Control
by glorysmile
Summary: "My name is Maka Albarn," she began with purpose. "My mother is a witch and my father is a weapon. I cannot control who I am, but I have a say on who I can be." AU. SoulxMaka
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater. If I did, I would be doing other things than writing fanfiction.

**A/N:** First Soul Eater fic! I'm really into it - I already have three chapters written and they're all around 10,000 words, so be on the lookout. If you're reading this for romance alone, I'm warning you that there's going to be a lot more to this story than that. When I first started writing this story, I wanted to keep it generally close to the plot of the manga, but I decided against it. I don't want to look like I'm re-writing Soul Eater, and since it _is_ AU I might as well run with it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Reviews are always appreciated greatly! xx

**!!important edit:** Later on in this chapter when the 'Kishin' is mentioned, I mean a Kishin egg, not THE Kishin! Sorry for any confusion!

* * *

"Now, Maka, Shinigami-sama is a very understanding being. Don't let his appearance fool you," Spirit Albarn told his daughter as they walked down the hallway to the Death Room. "I know you're nervous, but try not to show it. That shows weakness and Shinigami-sama has no tolerance for it!"

"Papa, you're the one shaking, not me." Maka Albarn replied simply to her father, pulling away her hand from his. "Why are you walking me here? Do you think I'm too little to handle this myself?"

"Of course I do!" Spirit exclaimed bluntly. "You're my baby girl, Maka-chan!"

Maka flushed with embarrassment and quickly glanced around the area to make sure no one heard. She didn't need her stupid father making a fool out of her on her potential first day. But, of course, she wasn't sure what was going to happen. She still had an obstacle to jump over, and it was the size of the Great Wall of China.

"Shinigami-sama," Spirit called with a wave. "I've brought Maka-chan, as promised!"

Maka looked directly at the towering figure that stood in front of the mirror. Her eyes didn't widen like her father expected – this wasn't her first time meeting Shinigami. It was actually just one of dozens. Today was different, though. Today she was going to finally apply for Shinigami Buki Shokunin Senom, or simply Shibusen. Unfortunately, her application wasn't as simple as the others who came. She had to go straight to Shinigami-sama himself.

"Ah, Maka, I'm surprised. Why do you have your Soul Protection on?" Shinigami asked curiously, turning to face Maka and her father.

Maka bowed quickly. "So that I didn't startle any of the new applicants, Shinigami-sama. I don't need to cause a wreck before I am even a student, do I?"

"That's the answer I was looking for!" Shinigami sang out, holding up two fingers in a gesture that clearly stated Maka had passed the first question. "Now, can you please inform me why you, of all people, should become a student here at Shibusen?"

"Because she is my daughter!" Spirit shouted, thrusting his hand in the air. "I am your loyal Death Scythe, am I not? What more reason do you need? She takes after her Papa so well!" Spirit gushed and doted over Maka by petting her light mouse brown hair that she fashioned in pigtails.

"Shinigami Chop!"

In a blink, Spirit was on the ground, cradling his head in agony. Shinigami had taken his large hand and literally chopped him in the center of his skull, drawing a bit of blood. Maka couldn't help but giggle. She'd seen this happen many of times before.

"If I want you to answer a question, I will ask you, Spirit-kun! I'm talking to cute Maka right now, not stupid you!" Shinigami shouted forcefully. Despite his cartoon like voice, he could be intimidating when he truly wanted to be. Maka stood her ground, staring intently in the black depths that were his eyes.

"Now," he began, clapping his oversized hands together loudly. "You can answer for yourself, Maka! Your father seems to be taking a nap."

Maka smiled. "What was your question, Shinigami-sama?"

"Why do you, of all people, belong as a student in the halls of Shibusen?" Shinigami repeated, looking curiously at the girl standing in front of him. "Surely you know the rules of this school."

"Because I don't like the life everyone expects me to have," Maka admitted. "I want to be… me."

"And who, may I ask, are you?" Shinigami had meant the question to be hypothetical in order to get inside Maka's brain. She was a strange girl and very difficult to read, especially with her Soul Protection on.

Maka understood the deeper meaning in the question and stood straighter, getting as tall as she could.

"My name is Maka Albarn," she began with purpose. "My mother is a witch and my father is a weapon. I cannot control who I am, but I have a say on who I can be."

She had sheepishly rehearsed that line for nearly hours at her father's apartment. She had meant to say it as her introduction, but it seemed as if all the cards were on her side today as that was the perfect play. Her voice was strong, masking the fact that she was weak underneath it.

"Ah, yes, your mother was indeed a witch. Sometimes I forget that do to her kind deeds." He looked at Spirit who was still on the ground. "Turning him into a Death Scythe being one of them. Maka, if you're anything like your mother, Shibusen would be more than happy to accept your application!"

Suddenly, with a burst of energy, Spirit leapt up with a shout. "Maka-chan is just like her mother! I say that to her every day, don't I Maka? I say, Maka, you are just like your mother in every way possible! I know she –"

"Shinigami Chop!" Shinigami shouted once more, sending Spirit down to the floor again. "I like you much better that way, Spirit-kun!"

"Papa, cut it out! You're going to ruin my chances!" Maka begged. Her chances were slim enough without her father having parental outbursts.

"Eh? Maka, you've been accepted. Not even your father can change what has been done!" Shinigami sang out happily.

"Really?" Maka shouted with joy, doing a small jump. "I'm really a Shibusen student?"

"Yes, I think things will turn okay. After all, I never make a bad decision!" Shinigami paused, his childish face turning as serious as it could. "However, I do have a few conditions considering your well being."

"Yes, Shinigami-sama, anything you request!" Maka nodded feverishly.

"No matter how little of it you inherited, you are still a witch. You have done well fighting off the sway of magic, and I expect you to keep it up. I understand that you have done a few simple spells in your lifetime, but I want you to cease now. Under no circumstances will you use your magic, unless I say it's okay. I highly doubt that day will come, but I'm being cautious. Also, I think its best if you keep your Soul Protection on at all times so not to confuse anyone with Soul Perception. In fact, perhaps you should keep the fact that you're a witch under wraps from the other students completely. This is, so to speak, a witch hunting school, and it may make the other's feel uncomfortable."

Maka listened earnestly, surprised that the conditions weren't as horrible as she expected. The few spells – if you could even call them that – were nothing more than casting charms on household appliances out of sheer laziness and curiosity. Of course, they all failed miserably. She was hoping she would be a better Shibusen student than a witch.

"I promise to live by those rules on my life, Shinigami-sama. I have a question though… My partner and I will have to match soul wavelengths – won't I have to tell them that I'm part witch?" Maka asked hesitantly. She wasn't trying to bargain with the Shinigami and she hoped it didn't seem that way.

"Ah, yes, of course you can tell your partner. I suppose you have no other choice. Speaking of partners, what are you exactly?"

"I am a technician," Maka replied certainly. "I haven't had any weaponry awaken, so I guess that I gathered being a meister from either my mother, or my father's mother."

"Guess work is no good," Shinigami said slowly. "Take of your Soul Protection. I want to see for myself. Quickly, before anyone notices."

Maka did as she was told, closing her eyes, seeping beneath her skin. She found her small soul and unwrapped it, letting her true self shine through. She bit her lip, hoping no one busted in and killed her right then and there. It was dangerous being a witch here; it was even more dangerous being a new witch.

"Yes, you were right. You have a soul of a technician." Shinigami-sama looked pleased and clapped his hands together. "This is so wonderful! It's always great having a witch on the other side of the fence!"

Maka smiled warmly. She liked Shinigami – she always had. Despite his strict witch hunting rules, he understood anyone who was willing to help out his pride and joy Shibusen. He had known Maka since she was a newborn, so she was trusted easily by him. It felt nice not being judged by the ultimate judger.

"Opening ceremonies are bright and early tomorrow! See you then, Maka-chan!" Shinigami sang with a wave, signaling it was okay for Maka to pick up her father and go. She did so gladly, leaving Shibusen with a wild, almost fearsome smile.

* * *

The next morning, Maka was up before the sun. She had barely gotten any sleep the night before, but she felt wide awake. She pulled out her clothes that Shinigami had instructed her to wear – a red plaid skirt, white dress shirt, and a light brown sweater vest – and laid it on her bed. She stared at the uniform for a while before walking over to the window. She looked up to the moon who grinned down at her with the same silly smile as always. Usually she found it a little morbid, but that morning she saw that it was beautiful.

She got dressed quickly though she was in no rush. She stood in front of her mirror a bit longer than usual holding her brush, wondering what she should do with her hair. Should she put it up in her normal pigtail style, or should she leave it down? Where the pigtails too childish? Was leaving it down a sign that she was a slacker and put forth no effort? She'd never obsessed over something as small as this – it was proof that Maka was indeed nervous.

She decided on the pigtails – she had the style since she was a child. It seemed safe. When she was stepping out of her comfort zone, it was nice to keep something familiar. Even if it was just a childish hairstyle.

"Maka-chan!" Spirit sang out from his living room. "Today is your first day of school! You don't want to be late!"

Maka frowned. It seemed her father was having more fun with this than her. She stepped out of her room and padded down the hall. She put on her boots and stood tall, glancing in the mirror proudly. For a moment, she saw a witches hate on head, but in a blink it was gone. Her eyes widened as she shook her head in surprise. Was it possible to be nervous enough to imagine silly things?

"What's wrong, Maka?" Spirit asked curiously, looking in the mirror his daughter was staring at as if she saw a ghost. He searched for what she was looking at with such intensity, but saw nothing but their reflections. He smiled and ruffled Maka's hair a bit. "Sometimes I'm surprised at how cute you are, too!"

Maka shook her head – she was just imagining things… She really shouldn't let her fears get a hold of her. She had to be strong. Her life was finally turning in the direction she wanted to, and she wouldn't let a stupid thing like picturing herself in a witch hat bring her down.

"I'm fine, Papa. Let's go to school before you become a puddle of goo. Shinigami-sama can't use a Death Scythe that he can't grab." She pushed past her father who was still cooing over her. She rolled her eyes in affectionate annoyance. For a while, it was just Maka and her mother, but when everything went wrong, her father was there for her with wide open arms, ready to take her in without a second thought. Spirit was the only one Maka had any contact with in a year now.

That was all about to change, however. She was a student of Shibusen now. She would make friends, and have a partner that she would have no choice to grow close to. Most people would feel pressured, but Maka was excited.

Death City was bustling with noise as people rushed around her. The majority of them were humans, but Maka knew that some of them were Shibusen students by the way they carried themselves. Most of her itched to start talking to them, while a tiny part of her told her to run. Even though she didn't embrace her witch blood, it was still there and liked to remind Maka of it quite a lot.

Maka was more than pleased to see that her father and gotten distracted by a pretty woman and turned his back to his daughter, giving her a chance to run off without him. She would never be able to make friends with her over protective clingy father breathing down her neck; scaring off any males that – god forbid – approached her.

She entered Shibusen and glanced around the familiar large ballroom that was usually empty. However, it was full of kids her age talking, laughing and joking around. Maka suddenly shrunk into herself, feeling a bit intimidated. But it only lasted a second before she had a burst of energy and started smiling greetings to strangers.

"Yo, Maka!" a somewhat familiar voice shouted. "Yahoo! Look at me!"

Maka made a face and slowly turned, fearing the worst. What she found was exactly as she suspected – Black Star was hanging off of the large drapes and flailing his arms wildly in attempt to draw attention to him. It was working for the most part, but there were still a few eyes that were pointed elsewhere, and this was not acceptable to Black Star.

"Back Star, get down from there!" Maka hissed, tugging at the end of the curtain. "You're going to get in trouble!"

"Me? Trouble?" Black Star let out a loud laugh. "Trouble runs away from me out of fear! I am the man who will surpass God! One day, this will be my house. So you see I can do whatever I like with its curtains because they are mine."

Maka sighed. She'd known Black Star since she was an infant – he was born a year before her. Her father had informed her that he was the last of his people and Shibusen had kindly taken him in, raising him to be a strong technician. He'd always been arrogant and over the top, but that was his charm. Maka and Black Star got along for the most part, but at times their assertive personalities clashed resulting in a large argument. She was careful not to let it turn physical, of course – Black Star was bound to beat her there.

"Don't you want to start looking for your partner? We only have one week to find one, or else we have to wait another year. You learned the hard way last year, didn't you?"

Last year no one had been able to stand Black Star and, no matter how compatible their souls were, refused to work with him. It hadn't bothered him as much as it would have Maka, however. He simply said that he knew it would take longer than others because of how important he was.

"I already found mine yesterday morning before you arrived! Tsubaki is really nice; I think you would like her! She's not as amazing as me of course," he leapt down from the curtain, "but she's pretty close."

"You found someone that quick?" Maka asked worriedly. She'd forgotten that yesterday was opening day, not today. What if she was the only one standing in the room without a partner already? Had Shinigami-sama changed the rules this year about the time limit of getting a partner? Did she really only have one day now, instead of one week?

"Don't freak out, Maka-baka," Black Star teased, calling her by her old childhood nickname. "Shinigami said that our soul wavelengths are a perfect match. Guess luck decided to hop in my pocket this year, huh? That's to be expected, though. I am, after all, Black Star!"

"Don't call me that," Maka snapped, but followed it up with a smile. She only allowed Black Star to call her that without physical damage. Not because she was scared of his retaliation, but because he had been the one to stand up for her when the other children chanted the name over and over back when Maka was five and Black Star was six. He had gotten into a lot of trouble, but he later told Maka that it was worth it because he was able to finally have an excuse to beat someone up.

Because Black Star has known Maka since she was born, he knew her secret. When he found out, he was eleven. He had accidentally walked in on Maka's mother teaching her daughter a simple spell that would help her reach the sink so she could clean the dishes. Instead of being scared and running away like Maka feared, he was excited.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a witch?" A young Black Star asked pointedly, thrusting his hands on his hips.

"I'm sorry," a ten year old Maka replied shamefully, hanging her head. "Papa told me it was best not to tell anyone for my safety… It's not that I don't trust you…" Tears welled up in her eyes and she wiped them away as quickly as she could. She liked to pretend she was strong whenever she was around Black Star. "Please don't be scared, I promise I won't hurt you like the other witches would."

"Scared? Why would I, Black Star, be scared of a witch? Ha! I'm not scared, I'm mad you didn't tell me sooner! This is so cool, Maka-chan, how could you hold out on me like that?" He flashed his friend a wide grin, causing her worries to melt away.

Despite his arrogance, Black Star was a great friend and could always make Maka feel better.

"Well, I guess you should start looking for your partner, right?" Black Star said, his face turning serious for a moment. "Be careful about who you chose. You're going to have to tell them you're a you-know-what, right? I don't want to have to beat a memory out of someone, but I will if I have to!"

Maka smiled warmly. "Yes, I'll be extremely careful, Black Star. But with my Soul Perception, even though it's weak with Protection on, I can see if a person is truly trustworthy with my secret or not. Everything will be fine."

With that, she turned on the heel of her boot and clasped her hands together as she scanned the room for someone she could begin talking with. A group of girls were huddled in the corner talking feverishly to one another. Too stand offish. Her eyes moved to the opposite corner. A group of buff males were guffawing and pointing at one of their friends as if he told a hilarious joke. Too scary. Her eyes drifted to the center of the room where a small group of three stood awkwardly, talking rarely to one another, obviously too nervous to go any deeper. Perfect.

Maka made her way over to them quickly. She would dominate this group and pick out a weapon best suited for her. Half way there, she stopped suddenly. A feeling pierced through the atmosphere of the room and straight through her heart, causing her soul to jump. She looked sharply in the direction it came from and walked towards it, not allowing it to register.

She came across a closed door, but she found it wasn't locked and opened it slowly. There, in a dark room, was a small stage where sat a grand piano. There was a dim light emitting from a few candles surrounding it – obviously the person who was sitting in the room had lit the candles themselves, not knowing where the light switch was.

Maka took a cautious step forward, not saying a word. A glimmer came from behind the piano as an arched figure emerged. It was the shape of a traditional scythe with red designs on it. But it wasn't a full scythe, just the blade. The blade was in the place of an arm of a boy who looked around Maka's age, if not younger. He had a slouched posture and stared at his arm in wonder, as if it was all new to him.

"You might as well just leave now," the boy said in a monotone voice. "All the others left pretty quickly when we started talking. No one's soul length matches mine. I'm going home today anyways. This place holds nothing for me."

Maka didn't move. Instead, she shut the door, closing the rest of the room except the stage in darkness. There was something about this boy she couldn't quite place and she wanted to so badly.

"You're just like the others, you know. No matter how many chances you give me, you'll end up leaving."

"Stop whining," Maka snapped, finally getting the motivation to walk over to the piano, standing on the opposite side. "I didn't come in here because I heard of you; I came in here because I felt you."

The boy smiled, flashing razor sharp teeth. It almost looking menacing. "You're bolder than the others, that's for sure."

"How many 'others' were there exactly?" Maka asked curiously, ignoring the meaning behind his statement. She wasn't going to give up that easily, not when she felt something that strong just a moment before.

"Ten in two days." His voice sounded hard, but Maka could tell it was sad.

"What's your name?" she asked, staring at him with the intense stare her father claimed would drive him mad some day.

_It's like she can see my soul_, she'd over heard him inform Shinigami-sama once. She smiled – little did he know that she could literally see his soul thanks to the genes his mother passed down through him, to her. It was impossible for a witch to have Soul Perception, but Maka was only part witch. She could do things the other witches couldn't. She could choose her fate.

"Soul. My name is Soul Eater." Finally, the boy made eye contact. He had liquid crimson eyes that looked like they were eyes of a warrior. They were strong, and most important of all, trust worthy.

"Soul," Maka tasted with a smile. "Ironic… But I like it. I'm Maka." She warmed up her smile to show that she was friendly.

"Listen, Maka, I know that you're trying to find a partner, but believe me, I'm not that guy. I thought I belonged here, but…" he drifted off, ripping away his stare from Maka's green eyes, forcing it to face somewhere in the distance. "But I don't belong here after all."

Maka frowned and bit her lip. She never thought she could relate to someone as much as she did in that moment.

"I know what you mean."

Soul looked sharply at the girl beside him – who was she? She had a different aura about her that he couldn't quite place. It was warm and almost welcoming. The other girls – and two guys – had tried to say that they understood what he meant, but he knew they were lying. However, when the words came out of this strange girl's mouth, he actually believed them. For the first time in weeks, Soul felt hope that maybe he _did_ belong somewhere, and it was with this girl. As her weapon.

"Maka-chan?" A voice sang outside of the door. "Maka-chan, its Papa! Come out of this room! Papa will help his Maka-chan find a nice partner just as amazing as she is!"

Maka ducked her head in embarrassment and grumbled a few curse words. She looked up and smiled apologetically at Soul. "My father… He's a bit, ah, stupid."

Soul smiled – a real smile, not a cold one. "I understand. You should go out to him."

"But…"

"Go and look for another partner. I'm not the one for you, Maka." It was almost shameful how those words upset him.

"That is a lie." Maka was blunt. "I have to go and calm him, but I'll be back."

She turned her back on Soul, smiling to herself. From what she could tell, their wavelength was a perfect match… Perhaps she had found her partner already? He seemed trustworthy and nonjudgmental – but she would have to find that out later after many careful hours of inspection.

She opened the door to find her father standing in front of it with his arms crossed. He tried to peer over his daughter to see what was in the room, but she shut the door quickly. She didn't want Spirit to find out she was in a dark room with a boy, even if it was innocent. Her father tended to overreact when a boy even looked at Maka. His womanizing ways caused him to expect the worst intentions when it came to boys.

"What were you doing, Maka-chan?" Spirit asked curiously. "Did you meet your partner already?"

"It's none of your business," Maka replied coolly. "I don't need a shadow, especially not my father!"

"But Papa will help you!" Spirit looked childishly hurt. "Please let me help you find a weapon, Maka!"

Maka sighed and agreed – something she soon regretted passionately. Her father advertised her like a showgirl. It was embarrassing and, of course, a fail. No one was interested in the girl the Death Scythe was bullying others to partner up with. Besides, Maka didn't feel a connection with anyone else. If she did, it was no where near as strong as what she felt with Soul. She wanted so badly to go back to the piano room and convince him to be her weapon, but with her father breathing down her neck it was difficult.

After thirty minutes too long, Maka finally put a stop to her father by pointing out a woman across the room, noting that she was pretty. As expected, Spirit ditched his daughter with a pat on the head and booked it to the unfamiliar woman, immediately starting to flirt. Maka sighed – how did her mother ever put up with him?

She made her way to the room again and opened the door. The candles had faded greatly and there was barely a glow to the room. Maka shut the door, blinding herself, but kept her hand on the doorknob.

"Soul?" Maka called out softly. "Are you still here?"

A small grunt of acknowledgement came from behind the piano – exactly the spot she'd left him in before. She frowned. Why had he stayed still? Did he really not want to be a Shibusen student anymore and chose to stay locked in the dark room so no one disturbed him? Or did he not want anyone else to bother him because he was interested in being Maka's weapon?

Maka made her way over to the piano and sat down on the bench once more. She ran her hand over the smooth keys and pressed a key lightly.

"Do you play?" Soul asked curiously, leaning forward on his arms, which rested on the piano. His bright red eyes were unreadable.

"No," Maka admitted. "I always wanted to, but I never found the time. Do you?"

"A little." He was too nonchalant with his answer.

"Do you lie a lot?" Maka teased with a small smile.

Soul's eyes widened for a short moment, but they quickly narrowed. His mouth spread into a grin, showing off his sharp teeth once more. His hand snaked its way to the keys as he played a small melody in the high note section. It was short, but it was still beautiful.

"Not too much, but some things should be found out over time, not during a game of twenty questions." He slid around to the bench and sat next to Maka, running his hands over the keys in the same fashion she had, but in a more expertise way.

"Will I be able to find things out over time about you?" Maka asked shyly. She wasn't usually this bold with strangers, but she felt like she was meant to be Soul's technician no matter what.

"No."

Soul's answer was blunt. Maka blushed furiously in embarrassment. She was so silly to think that it would be so simple to find a partner. She accepted long ago that she didn't have good luck – over time, she learned not to let her hopes up. Why had she let her guard down in front of a boy she just meant an hour ago?

"Why not?" Her voice came out sounding a little angry. No matter how childish it was, she was hurt by the rejection.

"You have no sex appeal," Soul replied, leaning back a little in his bench.

Anger welled up inside Maka. He was ignoring their connection because of her looks? He wasn't supposed to reject her until he had a decent reason – like finding out she was part witch! Her fists clenched as she threw a hard punch at Soul's head.

"Pig! You men are all the same! Why do my looks have a say in becoming partners? It's not like we're getting married. I'm only 13, how sexy do you expect me to look?" She was shouting over a crumpled Soul who cradled his head in agony. He looked eerily like her father after being chopped by Shinigami-sama. Her fists clenched again, ready to hit Soul once more.

"Don't punch me because you have no boobs!" Soul shouted in reply, sitting up with his hand over his pounding wound. It looked as if it was forming a bruise already.

"Maka Chop!" Before he was able to sit all the way up, Maka hit him again.

"Is that really necessary?" Soul yelled, jumping up. "You really shouldn't jump to violence so quickly!"

"You really shouldn't be perverted to someone you just met! No wonder no one can put up with you. You're ridiculous." Maka snapped, hiding her hurt with anger. She had been so sure he was trustworthy, but it looked like she would have to find a girl weapon since they seemed to be the only species she could even consider trusting.

Soul laughed. It wasn't a small, teasing chuckle, but a loud laugh that sounded foreign to even his ears. He leaned forward, grasping his side in attempt to slow his laughter down. It didn't work, however, as he kept laughing.

"What's so funny?" Maka asked crossly. "Now you're laughing at me?" Her throat caught for a moment and she swallowed tears. "Anything else you'd like to point out? How about my stupid hairstyle? Or my clothes? My shoes, perhaps?"

Soul stopped laughing suddenly. He hadn't meant to hurt Maka – her reaction was just so… adorable, he had no other way to express his reaction to it. He tried to form the words in his defense, but before he could even begin to say them, she was gone, slamming the door hard behind her, enveloping him in darkness.

* * *

"Welcome to the opening ceremonies!" Shinigami exclaimed happily with the clap of his oversized hands. "We're so pleased to have so many new children this year at Shibusen. As most of you know from your student handbook – which I assume you all have read because you were quizzed on it before you could even apply – here at Shibusen we promote peace, not violence. At times violence is called for, like when hunting Kishin and witches souls, but any misconduct with a human is uncalled for and is enough for immediate expulsion." His black eyes narrowed threateningly as his voice darkened. Though he was quite the character, Shinigami could get very scary when he wanted.

"Now that nonsense is covered, I'm pleased to see so many of you found your partners! If you haven't, then that's fine, we'll assign one to you by using a series of compatibility tests and Soul Perception. We want to make sure every student has at least one partner – and those with multiple ones can handle it.

"And now, without further –"

A loud screeching sound pierced the air, interrupting Shinigami's speech.

"Shinigami-sama!" a voice belonging to a dark skinned teacher Maka knew was named Sid boomed. "A Kishin has entered Shibusen! Where is Death Scythe?"

Alarmed voices began humming through the large room. Frightened expressions took over the excited faces of the new comers as they glanced nervously around the room, waiting for the monster to burst in.

"A Kishin? Here? Why at Shibusen of all places?"

"He must have decided to wipe us all out at once!"

"I don't want to die! I don't know how to fight a Kishin!"

"Relax; Shinigami-sama has this all under control."

"Yeah, he won't let us get hurt!"

"This is definitely not cool."

Maka turned abruptly, looking behind her towards the semi-familiar voice. She narrowed her eyes at the form in front of her. Soul. Now that he wasn't washed out by candle light, Maka could see more than his red eyes and dangerous smile. He had messy white hair and pale skin – he didn't look Japanese like Maka was, but she wasn't sure what ethnic he was exactly. His posture was slumped over and his hands were shoved deep in the pockets of his simple yellow and black jacket. His headband covered the top half of his eyes. He looked tired – it would have been alarming if Maka wasn't already annoyed by him.

"What would you know about being cool?" she asked childishly, pushing past him. She paused when she was behind him, closing her eyes and zeroing in on her target. Her Soul Perception inked its way out of the ballroom and quickly found the evil human. He was in the entrance ballroom where the students had been gathered earlier, meeting with others while also searching for their partners.

She began walking towards the exit quickly with a determined expression. She wasn't sure what exactly she would do, but as a Shibusen student she felt it was her duty to at least try. The murmurs of the other students surrounded her and did nothing but make her angry – why were they just standing there, talking? There was a kishin out there on their property and they just talked about it? It seemed a little twisted to her.

"Oi, Maka, what are you doing?" Soul called, reaching out and pulling her back slightly towards her. "You're not thinking about going out there, are you?"

"Yes, I'm going out there. Why wouldn't I?" Maka yanked her arm back towards her and continued walking. Why did someone as shallow as him care about where she was going? She kept weeding her way through the crowd without hesitation or looking back.

Soul kept following her, though. She felt his eyes burn a hole through the back of her head, but continued to ignore him. She was extremely aware of his presence but she wouldn't let him know that.

"You can't go out there alone; it's not cool to be dead." Soul called, grasping her sleeve again. The sad part was about his statement was that he was serious. Maka stopped and looked at him with disbelief for a short moment, but then she smiled slyly.

"I'm not going alone – you're coming with me." She wrapped her hand around his wrist and began dragging him through the students. Most were talking about how they should do something, but no one was bothering to move, saying that the teachers would take care of it.

Maka thought Soul would at least object, but he didn't. Instead he pried her hand off of him easily, but kept following her. She smiled secretly to herself – it seemed as if she was going to get him as a weapon. No one else was good enough for her. She wanted to make a death scythe for Shinigami-sama; Soul seemed like the only person who would make her dream possible.

"Maka!" a voice called excitedly. "Are you going to go fight that pathetic kishin? I'm coming with you!"

Black Star bounded next to Maka and Soul excitedly. He was being trailed by a pretty girl with her dark hair tied tightly on the top of her head. She looked happy – as if going off to battle a monster was something cheerful.

"Hello, I'm Tsubaki." She smiled warmly at Maka and bowed a greeting as they ran out of the ballroom before anyone could stop them. "Nice to meet you!"

Maka smiled silently as she attempted to keep up with Black Star. Of course, he was ahead of every one else. She had always been jealous of Black Star – without even trying he was able to surpass anyone in his path while Maka had to try as hard as she could to even follow closely behind him. The unspoken competitive nature in their friendship was a reason why they stayed so close. It was strange, but what wasn't in Maka's life?

It took about three minutes to get to the other side of the school. When they arrived, Maka saw Sid jumping back, shielding himself from the kishin's blow. In his hand was a hunting knife that didn't look like it was doing much good – was this his weapon?

"Tsubaki," Black Star called, holding out his hand.

Tsubaki nodded, understanding. A flash of light caught Maka off guard for a short moment. When her vision blotted back to normal, Black Star was grasping a chain scythe – two blades connected by a chain. It seemed to fit him perfectly.

"Yo, freak!" Black Star yelled. "How does it feel to know that you're going to be killed by a future God?"

Maka saw Soul appear by her side and she turned to him. His eyes were narrowed as he curiously studied Black Star.

"Is he always like this?" Soul asked in a way of disbelief.

Maka nodded with a smile. "Yeah, he is. But you get used to it."

"So, should we do this?"

"Do what?"

"You know, me turning into an ultra cool scythe and you killing that kishin," Soul explained coolly. He flashed his sharp smile again.

Maka froze. She was so stupid – why did she think this was okay? Surely Soul would notice that he couldn't sense her full soul wavelength and get suspicious of her. What will she say? _Oh, sorry, my Soul Protection is on so I'm not accidentally hunted_. That would go well.

"Um… Soul, there's something I need to tell you before that," Maka said hesitantly.

"Maka, I don't know if you've noticed, but we don't have enough time for that." His eyes were locked on the kishin that Black Star was charging.

"But –"

"We don't have time!" Soul shouted, diving for Maka and dragging her down to the ground. A loud crash sounded from the area they were standing before.

Dazed, Maka looked at a giant blade sticking out of the ground exactly where she had been standing before Soul shoved her out of the way. His arms were still wrapped around her protectively. She shook her head in order to get out of her foggy brain and narrowed her eyes in determination. She smiled up at Soul.

"Can you get off me and transform? I can't fight lying on the ground."

Soul flashed another dangerous grin and closed his eyes, allowing his body to transform into a classic scythe. At first, he was disappointed it wasn't anything super cool and original, but then he decided that being a weapon was cool enough itself.

Maka reached out and grabbed the handle before Soul hit the floor. She grasped it tightly and her hands, weighing it. She liked the feel of it – it didn't feel anything like when her father let her practice with him. It felt right, not forced. With a yell, she followed Black Star's footsteps, charging for the large monster that had blades as fingers and from what she saw, teeth, too.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sid-sensei unconscious on the ground and a woman hovering over him and calling desperately. She turned and looked at the two students and widened her eyes in terror.

"What are you doing? Get back to the ceremony room before you get hurt, you idiots!" she shouted, but yet she didn't move. Maka assumed that was Sid's weapon.

"The only thing getting hurt here is this ugly thing," Black Star replied with a whoop. He jumped high off the ground and kicked the kishin square in its side.

The kishin tried to swing his blades at Black Star, but he was too slow. Black Star was already on the other side, kicking him again. Maka saw what he was doing – slowing it down so she could take the kill. He knew that Maka wasn't good at speed but could finish the job with his help. She smiled as she ran across the ballroom.

"You think you can enter Shibusen whenever you want?" Maka yelled, tightening her grip on Soul. "For being so stupid, I'll be taking your soul!"

The kishin laughed an awful, screeching laugh and swung one of his long blade clad limbs. She kept running straight ahead – right into the area of the kishin's blades.

"Maka, look out!" Soul called, his faded image looking panicked. "If you keep being so careless, you're going to die!"

"Can you just trust me?" Maka replied as she swung the scythe through the air, making contact with the kishin just below the wrist, slicing all the way through. The hand covered in blades fell down with a thump.

The kishin, not liking that he was short a hand, let out of a scream of annoyance. With his only hand, he swiped at Maka, making contact with her side.

"Damn!" Maka yelled in aguish, holding onto the wound just below her rib cage. She felt the warm liquid trickle down her waist and some into her hands. She narrowed her eyes, fighting the pain. She had to in order to kill this thing – she wasn't going to act like a baby and cry over spilled blood.

With another yell, she charged the kishin again, pulling Soul back behind her head. Black Star was distracting it by throwing one of the chain scythes at the arm that Maka had gotten a hold of before. She jumped as high as she could, bringing Soul down. She felt the power surge through her hands for a moment, and then it was gone.

The kishin began shaking violently, and in an instant, it disappeared. In its place was nothing but a red glowing soul. Maka felt the weapon in her hand vibrate and she let go and stumbled, only to be grasped again by a hand. She looked up and smiled at Soul who had returned to his human form. She applied pressure to her wound, hoping it wasn't too deep.

"You four are possibly the most idiotic students here," Sid's voice boomed groggily. "But you acted as all Shibusen students should."

"Come on, Maka, we need to get you to the nurse," the dark skinned woman covered in bandages from earlier said while helping Maka stand straight. "My name is Mira – I'm your physical education teacher."

Maka nodded absently, allowing Mira to half drag her away. She turned to face Soul and smiled, trying to read his face. Did he suspect something? If he did, he hid it well because the only thing she saw on his face was his sharp smile.

"Meet me in the piano room when you get out," Soul called. He shoved his hands in his pockets again slumped over once more shuffling over to Black Star and Tsubaki.

* * *

Shibusen had different, awful techniques at torturing its students whenever they did something wrong. As soon as the nurse fixed Maka's wounds – which were thankfully shallow – she called her father.

Spirit came bonding into the infirmary noisily, slamming open the door and leaping into Maka's bed. Tears welled up in his eyes as he cried out things about how stupid Maka was, how proud he was of her, and how lucky she was to be alive.

"Papa isn't going to let anything like that happen to Maka-chan ever again!" Spirit shouted, holding his daughter close to him.

"Get off me!" Maka shouted, hitting her father over the head. "I'm a Shibusen student now; you can't expect me to let my stupid father be my shadow!"

"Maka, I don't think you understand just how dangerous this is. Maybe we should drop you out and let you wait another year until you're a big, strong girl!" Spirit's face went serious. "I didn't know how much I would worry about you."

"No." Maka tightened her grip on the pure white sheets that surrounded her in the bed until her knuckles turned white. She gritted her teeth in anger. "You are not doing this to me. Being a Shibusen student and turning a weapon into a Death Scythe is my dream. You're not going to take that away from me! I know I'm weak, but I can get stronger. I will get stronger!"

Spirit stared at his daughter for a while. He trusted her with everything he had – he had no choice not to. With a reluctant sigh, he patted Maka on her head softly, ruffling her hair in the process.

"I trust you, Maka."

With that, he turned and left, giving Maka the freedom to do so as well. The nurse told her to go straight home and rest – of course, Maka lied and said she would. Instead, she was going to the piano room to meet up with Soul and make him her weapon.

The winding halls of Shibusen were confusing, but Maka remembered the way Mira had brought her. Every time she moved her right side she winced due to the tiny shots of pain from her wound. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it wasn't exactly the bowl of ice cream either. She found that when she put pressure on the spot, it didn't hurt as much. So with each movement of her right leg, she pressed onto her wound.

Finally, she arrived at the room where she first felt Soul. Hearing something outside of the door, she paused, straining to listen. A dark melody was being played on the piano from inside. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to get lost in the notes that were being struck softly, but had a violent nature to them. Was this Soul playing?

Absentmindedly, she opened the door and stepped in. It was a lot brighter than the last time she stepped in – someone had turned on the over head chandelier. The piano was illuminated by the flickering candlelight and the shadows danced on Soul's profile playfully. His eyes were closed in concentration as his fingers did a purposeful dance across the keys. With each note, Maka's soul was tugged towards him. She felt the pain from her wound be replaced with the feeling of loneliness. While playing, Soul's emotions were completely vulnerable. The song he was pouring out was laced with sadness and hatred – it was angry and dark. When Maka closed her eyes, all she saw was black.

She sat next to Soul on the bench, listening a little longer. After five more minutes, Soul slowed to a stop, ending the low song with a few high keys, changing the mood completely. Maka smiled and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You play a little?" she teased.

A grin stretched across Soul's face and he nodded – his eyes were still closed. A minute of comfortable silence passed and his smile faded.

"That song you just heard… It's how I am. I'm not one of those cheery guys, and I'm not very fun to be around most of the time." He opened one eye and glanced at Maka. "I'm cool, though."

Maka gave a small smile and ran her hand over the keys. Another fit of silence passed. Maka's smile faded as well.

"The song describes a part of me very well," she said, putting a hand over her heart. "I'm sure you have a few questions to ask me."

Soul gaped at Maka for a moment – how could such a dark song describe even an inch of someone like her? She was happy and determined. A light, fast song would describe her, not something like that. He shook the expression off his face and donned a more serious one.

"When you were fighting, I was trying to touch your soul for a stronger connection, but you wouldn't let me. It could have preventing a lot of things." He paused and looked pointedly to her hand which covered up her wound. "Why didn't you let me?"

"Before I tell you," Maka said slowly, "you have to make a promise to me."

"What kind of promise?" Soul asked curiously. She was withholding the information for him on purpose.

"You have to promise that no matter what, no matter what situation you're in or how much you hate me, you won't tell anyone. Ever."

"Is that it?" Soul blinked, a little disappointed. He thought she was going to ask him to be her weapon again. Of course, he would have coolly accepted. After seeing the way she fought before there was no doubt she would some day turn him into a Death Scythe. Did he ruin that chance from before? "Okay, I promise."

"The reason I didn't let you near my soul is because I have my Soul Protection on." Maka said quickly, ducking her head. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have finally gotten it out. Her eyes were shut tightly in fear. Was he going to shun her?

"You're a witch?"

Maka's head shot up as she stared in disbelief. Soul's face wasn't twisted in horror or disgust, but was surprised and curious. His head cocked to the side a little, waiting for her to answer. Why was he acting so nonchalant about this? Was he insane?

"Y-yeah."

"Cool."

Maka stared in silent shock. How could someone be so strange? Everything he said came as a complete surprise. If someone had informed her that they were a witch in a witch hunting school, she would say a lot of things, but _cool_ wasn't one of them.

"Do you really think that?" Maka asked slowly, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, it takes a pretty cool witch to do something like this." Soul shrugged. He paused. "Unless you're planning something evil. If so, I'm going to have to kill you."

Maka giggled and shook her head. "No, Shinigami-sama knows who I am. My father is the Death Scythe of North America. I was raised to believe that everyone was born with a good soul; they just seep into darkness over time. My mother and father tried their best to make sure that I didn't."

"So your mother is a witch?" Soul asked curiously. Everything about this girl was interesting.

"Yeah," Maka nodded. "She was good, like me." Her voice was barely a whisper now as she rubbed her arms sorrowful.

"Was?" Soul was hesitant to ask, but it seemed as if Maka wanted to tell him everything.

"It's a long, boring story. But she isn't so good anymore. I haven't seen her a long time."

She remembered the last time she had seen her mother – though her mother hadn't noticed her. It was a year ago when her father took her to the next city over for a mission. They were walking in a café and bumped into someone. Immediately, Maka noticed the wavelength of the soul and turned sharply to see the woman who deserted her two years before.

In an instant, though, the cloaked woman rounded the corner. When Maka chased after her and turned around the wall of the building, it was too late. Her mother was already gone.

"That's so not cool," Soul said softly, not knowing what else to say. He never had a close relationship with his own mother, but it seemed like at some point Maka had been close to hers.

Suddenly, Maka's head shot up as she pulled herself out of her gloom cloud. She turned and looked at Soul straight in the eye, her face full of determination and stubbornness.

"Soul, I want you to become my weapon. You're the only person I can see turning into a Death Scythe, and I won't settle for anyone else." Her voice sounded strong to her ears, she hoped it sounded that way for Soul, too.

Soul's sharp teeth appeared in a large smile.

"Sure, sounds cool."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Soul Eater or any of its characters, yadda yadda yadda legal stuff etc.

**A/N:** This chapter builds the relationships a bit more and answers important questions that came up last chapter. I foreshadow a lot, some obvious, some not so obvious, so beware... This was probably the hardest for me to write because I'm so used to jumping right into the plot, but I want to take it slow for this story. Thank you guys for your reviews, they mean a lot. Keep it up!

I don't normally update this soon, but I just found out that I made my spring play (yay!! I was so nervous about it!), so that means I won't have much time to put into this story. This is my little way of saying sorry for the future lack of updates.

* * *

That night, Maka fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She didn't dream, she didn't wake up throughout the night, she just slept peacefully. Her father was already asleep once she'd gotten home from talking to Soul a bit more so she didn't have to worry about Spirit parading about, being as loud as possible. She briefly wondered if it was because of her fight with the kishin that he was so worn out – he overreacted a bit too much all the time, so it wouldn't come as a surprise to her.

After Soul finally agreed to become her partner, they discussed things about class schedules. It was a Shibusen rule to take every single class with your partner, so they had to find a happy medium since they were so different. Of course, this led to arguments about what they should and shouldn't take classes on, even if they could only choose one class each. Finally, Maka threw her hands up in the air in exasperation and called it a night.

"It's not going to be easy for us, is it?" she asked the wind, not expecting an answer as she walked down the steps of Shibusen.

"No, but when is it ever fun that way?" a voice replied from behind her.

She whirled around to find Soul shuffling a few steps above her. She paused and waited for him to catch up with a polite smile.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

There was something innocent about Soul that made Maka think that it was worth all the future arguments they were bound to have. Despite his attempts to be 'cool', she could see right through them. He was frustrating – she knew that much even from only meeting him a few hours before – but wasn't she? She was going to turn Soul into a Death Scythe no matter what.

The next morning Maka woke up at exactly six in the morning. She stretched with a moan and rubbed her eyes, blinking a few times for her vision to clear. When it finally did, she jumped back with a scream. Not two inches from her face, Spirit was smiling a goofy smile.

"Good morning, Maka-chan!" he sang out happily, raising a tray with an assortment of fruits and grains. "Papa fixed you breakfast for a long day at school!"

Maka's frozen fear on her face disappeared and annoyance replaced it. How long had he been sitting on her bed waiting for her to wake up? She wasn't sure how much longer she could take his doting, but she sighed in defeat. There wasn't much she could do about it, unless she casted a silence spell on him. As tempting as it sounded, she couldn't do it due to the promise she made to Shinigami-sama.

She hesitantly grasped the tray and sniffed. The bowl of fruit looked suspiciously red, but smelled safe enough. She picked up the spoon her father had laid out next to it and took a bite, smiling to satisfy him.

"Yum." She was emphasizing her pleasure in order to make him happy. "Thanks, Papa, it's delicious."

Spirit clasped his hands and sighed happily. He stood up and danced out of the room, singing about how he could make his Maka happy with just breakfast food.

Maka smiled and sat the tray to the side and padded over to the small bathroom across the hall. She brushed her teeth and ran a comb through her thin pale brown hair slowly. Her mind wandered elsewhere as she stared blankly in the mirror. As she ran the final brush through her hair, a flash caused her to blink in surprise. When her vision cleared, she was still staring at her reflection, but something was off.

Her face was distorted into a cruel smile that seemed to take up over half her face. A crooked witch's hat sat on top of her head, drooping down to cover the side of her face. Her hair wasn't in its normal pigtail style, but instead it was spiked and different directions, looking as if Maka had just gotten electrocuted. But the thing that scared her the most where her eyes. Her normally large irises had shrunken to the size of peas, the green almost completely replaced by her black pupil. Her eyes were dangerously wide, giving her entire face a stretched, menacing look.

With a loud gasp, she jumped back, rubbing her eyes furiously until they stung.

_It was just_ _a hallucination_, she repeated to herself silently. However, she kept her eyes shut and darted out of the bathroom and into her mirror less room. She shoved the memory of what just happened far back in her mind, locking it up with the other, less vivid moments in the darkest corner. She wasn't going to turn out like that. The stress was amplifying her fear, that's all.

The got dressed slowly, still dazed from shock. Every time something silly like that happened, she would always obsess over it for hours.

She straightened up and raised her chin when she finished putting on her skirt. Clenching her fists, she promised she would never let something as stupid and meaningless as that get in the way of making Soul a Death Scythe. With that, she swallowed her fear and marched out of her room and towards the front door.

"Maka-chan!"

She froze. _Damn_.

"Will you give your papa the honor of walking you to school today?" Spirit asked as he fluttered his lashes in hope.

"No," Maka said bluntly, continuing her set march, leaving her father to sulk in his apartment. He probably would have gone into the Host Bar half way to school, and she was planning on meeting up with Soul to begin their argument on what classes they should take, anyways. She didn't need her father there to bully Soul into giving in to what Maka wanted, no matter how nice that sounded. She wanted the schedule to be equal, considering they both had to endure it.

She was mulling over which classes she would omit to suit Soul's needs when he rounded the corner. He looked similar to how he did yesterday. His hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his yellow and black jacket. His red jeans hung loosely around his waist, pooling on his multicolored shoes. The headband he wore yesterday was higher now – she was able to see his crimson eyes in their entirety now. As he did yesterday, he looked incredibly tired.

"You should try sleeping," Maka suggested when his eyes caught sight of her. "I hear it's good for you."

"Huh?" he asked blankly. "Oh, yeah. Sleeping isn't cool."

Maka frowned. There he went talking about what was cool and what wasn't cool again. Did he really care that much about what people thought about him? Is that why he rejected her at first?

She shook her head. It didn't matter now – he was her partner. They were going to make it official today in front of the Shinigami.

"So, have you decided on the classes you'll be willing to drop for mine?" Maka asked as they continued walking. She didn't want to sound like she was pressuring him, but they did only have about an hour before signing up.

"Yeah," Soul replied coolly. "None of them."

"What?" Maka stopped mid step and turned around, her face red with annoyance. Her right fist clenched and raised, ready to strike Soul on the top of his head enough times to make him drop. "You mean to say that you expect me to take your brain numbing, macho classes? You've got to be joking!"

"They aren't brain numbing. They teach you about life." Soul defended.

"How is a class about making bird houses teaching you about life? We're kishin egg hunters, not environmentalists!"

"Shop is a good class! It teaches handy skills and… stuff. Plus, it has to be the easiest class listed."

"If you want to take shop class, go to a normal high school!" Maka shouted, her fist still raised in the air. "This is Shibusen and I'd like to take the classes that only Shibusen offers!"

"But they all sound so… complicated. History of Souls 101 sounds the worst." Soul scoffed, narrowing his eyes.

"That's the one class we have to take, you idiot!" Maka said, finally landing a good punch on Soul's head. As expected, he flew to the ground and winced in pain.

"Ah, fine, fine! We'll do it your way! I want to keep Weaponry 101." He muttered. "The pamphlet says it's interactive with weapons and technicians."

Maka smiled triumphantly. "I'm keeping History of Souls Lab! It's an extra credit class, so you have a chance of learning something," she teased, happily turning around and marching forward once more. It was nice to have gotten over yet another milestone with minimal violence this time.

Soul had to quicken his pace to follow the girl who had a new spring in her step. He sighed and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and ducked his head as they passed a small gaggle of girls. He noticed one of them as the first person to approach him. She had demanded that he be her technician without even realizing that he was a weapon. It was hard to be so cool sometimes.

"Maka!" a voice shouted from behind them. "Soul!"

Maka turned around expectantly, moving two steps to the left in order to get out of Black Star's way. He was running as fast as he could, and she knew it took a few feet for him to finally stop. Soul, however, didn't. But he found out soon enough when he was sprawled on the ground gasping for breath as Black Star's muscular body crushed his lungs.

"Get off of me, you idiot!" Soul shouted, shoving the blue haired boy off of him.

"Good morning, Black Star," Maka greeted with a small smile. She held out her hand for Soul to grab. He took it after a short beat and she helped him back to his feet. If he had been standing straight, Maka noticed, he would probably be taller than Black Star. Why was he slumped over all the time? It looked oddly uncomfortable.

"It's an even better morning now that I've graced you all with my presence! Yahoo!" Black Star replied with another one of his trademark yells. "Tsubaki should be joining us soon."

As if on cue, Tsubaki appeared. She was grasping her hands behind her back and a polite smile was plastered on her face. Maka took her in for real this time now that she could without being killed. She was tall – a little taller than Maka – and was absolutely gorgeous. Her purple-black hair was tied tightly on the top of her head and two large chunks framed her pretty, round face.

"Hello," she greeted with a large, warm smile. Her purple eyes lit up as she saw Black Star. "I told you that you would arrive on time!"

"You also told me that all future gods arrive on time," Black Star shot. "Which I found out was a lie."

"Sorry, but as your partner I will go through all means to make you be your best," Tsubaki giggled. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Oi, Maka," Soul called, starting his way up the long set of stairs. "We should get going."

"Yeah," Maka replied, waving goodbye to Black Star and Tsubaki, and bounding up the stairs in order to catch up. She smiled to herself – Tsubaki seemed like the perfect match for Black Star in every way. No wonder their soul wavelengths were so compatible.

She wondered briefly what it was about her partnership with Soul that made them so alike.

* * *

"Every last one of you in this room has found a partner. Weapons have their meisters, and meisters have their weapons. This is your partner for life, unless certain extreme circumstances are brought to our attention, you will not be getting a new one." Sid-sensei paced the room with his hands clasped on the small of his back, instructing the students like they were in military school. By the way Maka's bones ached from Physical Education, it might as well be.

"Right now your soul wavelengths are weak. Stronger than most, of course, but in the long run, they won't last like this forever. As students of Shibusen, you are expected to strengthen the connection with your partner to the point of becoming one. You are to eat with your partner, breathe with your partner, become closer than all other relationships with your partner, live with your partner – _be_ your partner. If you follow those, your souls will become infused for life." Sid paused, adding a small smile. "And that is a tie that can never be broken or replaced."

Maka furiously took notes during the whole lecture, hoping she had gotten everything important down. She felt somewhat pressured to be the best there was by her father's high expectations and her over all situation. She had to prove to Shinigami-sama that she could really stay at Shibusen despite what ran through her veins, even though he assured her that he trusted her.

Deep down, she was trying to prove something to herself. If she was a good student, she was a good person. Maybe if she said that to herself enough she would start to believe it.

A few snores came from the seat next to her, causing her to turn and glare at Soul, who's head was lying down on the table, allowing himself to drool all over it. His mouth was wide open, displaying his razor sharp teeth in a lazy way.

Maka sighed and hit him as hard as she could with her notebook, jolting him awake.

"What was that for?" Soul snapped, rubbing his head. "You shouldn't resort to violence so quickly!"

"You need to pay attention to this; he's talking about how important it is for our soul wavelength's to match perfectly! Do you want to become a Death Scythe or not?" Maka replied in a hiss, shoving her notes over to him. "Read it."

She watched as Soul's eyes scanned the paper and narrowing as he got further into the lecture. She waited patiently for him to finish the three sheets, forgetting that she was missing out on the last half by showing him the firs half. She wouldn't let him make a habit out of this.

"So what he's saying is that we should move in together?" Soul asked after he finished. He slid the purple notebook back to the technician and sat his head in his hands.

"Huh?" Maka blinked a few times and looked back down at her notes. How did he get that from what she'd written? She'd always prided herself on her close to perfect note taking skills. It was typical that Soul was the one to burst her bubble. Then a string of words popped out at her and she understood.

…_live with your partner…_

Maka looked back at Soul and shrugged. "If that's what you think it'll take, then I guess we could do that."

"Cool." Soul mumbled as his head drooped because his arm became limp. "I already have my own place courtesy of my parents. You can come with me after school." With that, he let his head fall back into place on the desk, opening his mouth wide again as he fell asleep once more.

"I thought you said sleeping wasn't cool," Maka muttered to herself, returning her attention on the teacher. Of course, she didn't get a reply. She assumed that she would have to show him the rest of her notes at his place later. As she sighed to herself, she accepted that it was, in fact, going to become a habit out of him. As his partner, she couldn't let him fail, so she had to make due with what she bargained for.

The rest of the lecture was an outline on what they would be doing for the rest of the year. Sid pointed out multiple times that since kishin eggs never stopped forming, Shibusen never had summer break like normal schools did. After a chorus of groans, he added that they did have periods of time after exams and certain holidays where they didn't have to attend classes for two weeks, but their duties as Shibusen students were still active.

"This is the class you will have every single day, excluding weekends," Sid continued as he still paced a hole into the floor. "Consider it your most important one, but don't slack off in your other classes either. If you fail this class, you are expected to take it next year along with History of Souls 102, which you will also have every day. I am rarely absent from my teaching – it's just the way I am – so don't expect to slack off ever in here. I won't allow it."

Maka wasn't sure if this information was extremely important, but she wrote it down anyways for Soul's sake. Later on in the day, she decided he deserved the precise notes. He had ended up saving her during Weaponry 101 introduction when Black Star had lost grip of Tsubaki in chain scythe mode. It flew towards her at rapid speed, but Soul yanked her out of the way just in time – before she had even noticed she was in danger.

"Thank you," Maka said, dumbfounded.

Soul just shrugged and turned to finish his conversation with another weapon named Havar like what he had done was nothing. Maka flushed in embarrassment when she realized that everyone's eyes were on her, silently questioning if she was okay. Giving a nod, they started back to their routine.

Maka felt happy by the end of the day – or as happy as she could, give her situation. Despite the fact that the image she saw in her mirror this morning haunting her, she felt… free. At Shibusen, she was in control of everything. She controlled how much she learned, how much effort she put into something, how her relationships with others would develop, and the most powerful out of all the things she controlled was holding Soul when he was a scythe. That's all anyone wanted, right? Control.

"How did you like your first day of school?" Maka asked, breaking the comfortable silence between her and Soul as they walked to Soul's place.

"It was cool," Soul replied expectantly, causing Maka to roll her eyes.

"Do you ever describe anything using another word other than cool?" Maka asked, looking at Soul with honest curiosity. Her green eyes glimmered in a seemingly unnatural way when the sunlight hit them.

"Sometimes." Soul teased flatly. "Does it bother you?"

"Sometimes." She looked at him from the corner of her eyes and smiled slyly. In a blink, they were facing forward as she walked with a slight bounce in her step. Soul couldn't help but to notice the flap of her short skirt, revealing black undergarments. Soul rolled his eyes; he would have to suggest a longer skirt for the younger girl.

"Maka-chan!" a spastic voice sang out of no where. "Maka-chan, don't run from your papa!"

Soul blinked a few times before he noticed that Maka was no longer matching his lazy pace. Instead, she had broken out in a full run, motioning with a wave of her hand for him to follow. Curiously, he looked behind him, but in an instant he wished he hadn't.

"Who are you and why is my Maka-chan trying to run away with you? Are you her boyfriend? You're too old for her! Run away, before I finish you!" Death Scythe barked angrily not two inches away from Soul's face. If it weren't for Soul's constant backing up, Spirit probably would have been gripping his arm tightly as well.

"I'm not even considering dating your daughter, so you don't have to worry about that," Soul snapped at the over protective father.

"Are you saying that Maka is unappealing? Ugly? Why don't you have any interest in her?" Spirit continued to yell, throwing his fists up in the air childishly.

"I'm not saying that! You're really pissing me off!"

"Then why aren't you –"

In a flash, Maka was between the two, shoving her stupid father away from poor Soul, who was both confused and angry. Without hesitation, she hit her father directly on top of his head and sent him flying to the ground in a heap of misery and pain.

"You are such an embarrassment to me! How can someone who is such an idiot be a Death Scythe? It makes no sense! Soul is my partner, and I'll have you know that as of today, I'm moving in with him and leaving you!" she shouted, shaking her fists angrily in the air.

Soul almost grimaced at the resemblance between the father and daughter, but he was too busy being shocked at Maka's announcement. She hadn't even seen his place yet – how did she know for sure she wanted to move in with him just yet? After glancing at the situation again in front of him, he sighed. Of course she wanted to get away from her clingy father as soon as possible. Even if she didn't know this, he could always obtain a larger apartment easily.

Without a word, Soul grabbed Maka by the back of her shirt and dragged her away from her father who was on the verge of tears. She, of course, was still screaming out his faults, not giving him chance to shoot down the idea of them moving in together. As much as Soul was happy about this, he couldn't help but to feel a tiny twinge of sadness for the Death Scythe.

"You shouldn't be so mean to him," Soul pointed away as soon as they rounded a few corners, deciding the distance was safe enough to let Maka go.

"Why not?" she asked, her looking face cross.

"He really cares about you, that's all." Soul said softly, shoving his hands deep inside his pockets once more. He didn't think it'd be very cool of him to admit his father had acted a third as loving as that.

"I know he does," Maka's reply was just as soft. "But I feel like I have to have room to grow away from him in order to be a better person. He barely gives me enough room to breathe most of the times. Sometimes I think he's more scared of me than I am myself."

Maka had always thought that – ever since she moved in with him three years ago – but hearing herself say it out loud only made it more real. Her father had watched the woman he'd once love sink slowly on what she'd always been… He was bound to be a little over the top with his daughter. But Maka wasn't going to have her father around forever. She needed to learn to take care of herself before it was too late. Before she ended up like her mother.

Soul sensed that she wasn't in the mood to talk any longer, so he dropped it. He felt a little awkward, so he just shoved his hands deeper in his pockets of his jacket and slouched more. It was the easiest way to deal with things, plus he thought it made him look cool.

He led Maka through the streets of Death City to his apartment complex quickly – it wasn't that far from Shibusen. He was turning 16 soon and his father had already promised him a motorcycle to help him around the city easier. He wouldn't have to wake up thirty minutes earlier than he really had to now for school, and for that he was grateful.

When they arrived, Maka looked around the hallways curiously. It seemed quite, like the elderly citizens of Death City lived here, or it was a selective community. She noticed the cleanliness and the way it smelled like sanitizer – it was so unlike the laid back complex she lived in with her father. The atmosphere made her feel smaller almost, as if it was telling her she didn't belong.

Soul stopped in front of a door suddenly– the only red door in the hallway of blue doors – and fumbled with a keychain which held a single key and a small picture. Before Maka could see what the picture was of, it was back in Soul's pocket and the door was now open, revealing a rather large apartment.

"It was just you who lived here?" Maka questioned doubtfully as she stepped in.

Her eyes scanned the white washed walls and powder blue details, and allowing her vision to drift down to the furniture. It was decorated in an elegant, yet laid back way. There was a small cream colored couch in front of a normal sized television. A few feet away from the living room area there was a low table surrounded by maroon sitting mats. From what she saw, the kitchen was slightly larger than the one her father shared with her, with a few extra appliances in it as well. Maka saw a hallway beyond the couch that led into darkness – she assumed that's where the bedrooms were.

"Yeah, just me," Soul said sheepishly, plopping down on the cream couch. "My family is pretty well off, so my parents got this for me as a sort of 'congratulations, you're a deadly weapon' present. Your bedroom can be the one closest to the beginning of the hall, or the one at the very end."

Maka nodded and took this as a welcome to go check it out. She slowly padded across the white carpet after taking off her shoes. She hadn't taken three steps before she stumbled over something.

Looking down, she noted in disgust at how filthy everything was. Soul seemed to not only live in his room, but in every single room in the apartment as well. There were shirts and pants skewed on the floors and some even draped over at odd ends of the place. Maka hoped that he had left at least one of the designated rooms alone and clean.

When she opened the first door, she instantly knew it was the one she wanted. Thankfully, it was untouched by Soul's tornado of dirty laundry. There was a small bed right under the window that the afternoon orange sun poured through, giving the room a glow. There was a book shelf that ran up the wall and to the ceiling – empty, of course – and towards the bottom it was connected to a small desk.

She walked out, not giving the other room one glance, and silently sat next to Soul on the couch. She found it odd that he didn't have the television at first, but soon found the thoughtful silence to be cool. She giggled when she noticed that she used Soul's favorite adjective without realizing it.

"What's so funny?" Soul asked, shifting his body so that his back was leaned against the arm of the couch and he was facing Maka.

Maka shook her head with a small smile. "Nothing."

"You're weird."

"You're not exactly normal yourself, you know," Maka shot. Her face softened. "Will you tell me more about your family?"

"There's not much to tell," Soul shrugged. "My parents are together and happy, or that's what they tell everyone. I have a perfect, talented older brother named Wes who is pretty cool. All of my family is made up of musicians. I guess with the way Shibusen is with your family it's the same way with my family and music. Wes is one of the top violinists in the world, and my mother was a really popular piano player when she was younger. My father used to play the cello, but he dropped it once he started managing my mom. He does that with Wes now."

"So none of your family members are weapons?" Maka asked curiously.

"Well, I obviously have weapon blood, so we probably do but their power stayed dormant because they had things going for them. As much as I love playing piano, I'm no Wes when it comes to music," Soul explained with a distant glint in his eyes.

"You shouldn't feel like that, you know," Maka said with certain softness in her eyes. There was more to Soul than she had thought. "Your brother's shadow can't be a nice place to live."

"I'm not in my brother's shadow," Soul snapped before straightening his face. "He may play the violin pretty good, but he's no wicked cool weapon. I got the good end of the stick."

Maka smiled and nodded. Part of her wanted to believe that Soul believed what he was saying, but it was hard. He wasn't very convincing. Maka had spent most of her life wallowing in lies – she could spot one easily.

"So, other than your dad being the ultimate protective father, what about your family? You don't have to tell me about your mom if you don't want to." Soul said with a quick flash of his sharp smile.

In all honesty, Maka didn't want to tell Soul about her mother, but she felt that it was necessary in order for their soul wavelengths to grow closer. It wasn't that she didn't trust Soul – she obviously did – it was just because she didn't want him to think she would end up just like her mother, no matter how hard she fought it.

"Well, my mama and papa met at Shibusen… My mom was a witch who decided to become a technician when she was 16. She didn't run it by Shinigami at first like me, but after he saw the way she fought without magic, he didn't really mind it too much. She just had to make a pact with him that she would never use magic while in the gates of Death City. My dad already had a partner when they left, but she 'saved' him – his words, not mine – and in two years he was already a Death Scythe." Maka paused.

Her father had told her this story so many times before, but this was the first time she'd never told anyone. She now understood why he liked to tell it so much – her mother sounded strong and… magical, in a different sense of the word.

"Papa is a pig," Maka continued flatly. Soul couldn't help but snigger. "He flirts with anything that wears a skirt, no matter what kind of relationship they're in. He spends all of his time at the Host Bar by his apartment complex drinking and flirting. When I first moved in with him he sometimes forgot that I was there. One time he was walking through the city with me and left me because a pretty woman smiled at him! I was lost for almost three hours while he was warm in a bar somewhere laughing it up."

Maka still remembered that day – it was one of her childhood memories that were clear. She had been holding tightly to Spirit one moment, and within the next second, he was gone and the only thing she was clutching was air. She wandered around the streets aimlessly in tears wondering where her dad could have gone until she was found by a man with scars all over his face and a cigarette in his mouth. She later found out this was the scary man Spirit always talked about that his ex-wife saved him from.

"So you're an only child?" Soul asked curiously, sitting his head in his hand as his crimson eyes burned with intensity. He wanted to learn everything about Maka. Everything she was telling him was more interesting than his life summed up in total.

"Yeah," Maka said with a small smile. "I used to wish that I had a brother or sister when I was younger, but I think its better this way…"

She wouldn't want another person to hurt the way she did.

"You're a really good piano player, you know," Maka said suddenly, with passion. "I think you could be a famous player if you wanted!"

Soul blinked in surprise at her outburst for a few seconds before responding.

"You have too much faith in me, Maka," he said with a sadistic smile. "You don't even know me."

Maka narrowed her eyes. "Says the person who responded with _cool_ when I told you that I was a witch. How do you know that I won't try something evil?"

Soul shifted on the couch again, facing the television and closing his eyes. He was silent for a moment – for a short time, Maka had suspected he'd fallen asleep. Finally he opened his left eye, looking directly at Maka's emerald ones.

"Because I don't think you're that kind of person. You're too cool for that stuff."

With those words, Maka's heart swelled with a mixture of emotions – namely, affection. Soul was so naïve and almost childish that he trusted her even with no given reason. If she had any doubt at all about being partners with him, it was all washed away. But she couldn't let him keep thinking that way. It wasn't true.

"Do you want to know about my mom?" Maka said quickly before she could change her mind. "I think you need to know before you say things like that."

Soul opened both eyes and looked at her silently, his eyes signaling for her to continue. He didn't believe that he would change his mind about her, but he did want to know about her mother. Not out of curiosity, but out of concern. It looked like it was messing her up by keeping inside – or maybe it was just messing her up in general. He wasn't sure, but he was willing to listen.

"She left me three years ago. It came out of no where, actually. One day, we're living together in Carson City, and the next I wake up in our place alone with a train ticket on the table. No note, just a ticket that said Death City on it. I was confused, of course, so I waited a few days. I was so sure she was going to come back…" Maka drifted off, thinking of how she used the few spells her mother taught her to take care of herself for that week. She also remembered how her mother never did come back.

"I called my dad after I lost a little hope thinking he knew something. He didn't, and he instantly began to beg me to come live with him until she came back. I agreed thinking it was only temporary, but… Well, it's been three years and I haven't talked to her since." Maka finished with a frown. "There were rumors about her joining a witch coven that was rumored to be evil for a while, but Papa put an end to that."

"Do you believe it?" Soul asked softly. Why did she seem so afraid?

"I didn't at first, but now… I'm not sure what to believe. I think my doubts are just wishful thinking…" She whispered in reply, bunching up her plaid skirt in her hands. Soul nearly choked when he caught sight of her underwear again. She really needed to stop that.

"I don't think your doubts are wishful thinking. I can't speak for your mom, but I can't speak against her either. The only thing I can say was how wrong she was with leaving you." He paused. "I know how that is."

"What?" Maka asked in disbelief, blinking a few times. She frowned. "Your mom left you, too?"

"Yeah," Soul said shortly. "She packed all of her stuff and said she couldn't take our house anymore. I wanted to go with her, but Wes wouldn't let me go. I was seven."

Maka's hand found its way over to his. She grasped it comfortingly and smiled warmly. Even though she had just met Soul yesterday, she felt like she'd known him for months – even years. She'd never met someone with such a vast soul connection like Soul. Earlier today, she didn't have the slightest idea, but now she could see that they had a lot in common.

"Has she talked to you any?" Maka asked hopefully.

"Yeah, we talk on the phone at least once a week. She travels the world so I haven't seen her more than five times since she left, but it's better than nothing," Soul replied carefully, hoping the way he worded it wouldn't hurt Maka. It was the last thing he wanted to do in that vulnerable moment.

"That's good," she replied happily.

"Well, you should go get your stuff so you can move in," Soul suggested. The connection was slowly coming to an end, so Soul decided to change the subject before it got awkward.

Maka released his hand and nodded. Her sparkling green eyes found their way to his glowing red ones and she silently told him no. She didn't want to go back to her apartment to find her father in the fetal position, and she wasn't in the mood to hear him beg for her return. It would make her feel guilty, it would just annoy her.

"What are you going to wear tomorrow? Do you shower, or do you just want to stink up my place? That's not allowed." Soul leaned back leisurely again, letting his eyes close. He liked listening to things happening around him, even if it was just the low hum of the air conditioning system. The way the air buzzed around him was almost magical.

"Okay, I'll go," Maka said slowly. "But you have to come with me! My father is most likely insane right now. I can't go alone!"

"Your dad is a pervert and is trying to pick a fight with me, why would I go there?" Soul shouted, jumping up.

"Because I need your protection! I'm your meister, listen to me!" Maka shouted in reply as she jumped up as well. She wished she was a few inches taller so she could be slightly intimidating, but she fell short next to the six foot tall Soul.

Soul sighed in defeat as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets, slouching again. He silently scuffed over to his front door and put on his shoes and stood waiting for Maka to follow suit.

She smiled triumphantly and strapped on her boots quickly.

"Thank you, Soul, it means a lot to me!" she gushed as they walked to the stair well.

"I understand how you need a strong, cool guy like me to protect you. I guess that's my job from now on."

* * *

"Maka-chan, please come back to your papa," Spirit cried, grasping his daughter's hand. "Don't leave your poor papa at such a young age!"

"Let go of me so I can grab some things." Maka turned up her nose in disgust. "I'll be coming back tomorrow to get the rest."

"Death Scythe-sama," Soul interrupted, grabbing Maka's hand out of her fathers, freeing her. "We're doing this to strengthen our soul waves to each other. This isn't to spite you." He tried his hardest to keep a steady voice, but the grown man was aggravating him with the way he was acting.

"This is your entire fault!" Spirit's shouts turned directions as he pointed a finger in Soul's face. "You have brainwashed my cute daughter to live as your sex slave!"

"You don't have shame, do you?" Soul's eyes widened as a blush filled his cheeks. This only angered him more. "We're partners, and I just met her yesterday!"

"Who do you think is Maka's mother? My partner! I know what really happens behind the scenes of all those soul connection sessions, I'm no fool!"

"You seem so sure about that lie, old man!"

"That's Death Scythe-sama to you!"

"The only honorific I'll refer to you as would be Death Scythe-baka!"

The two bickered for a while longer before Maka finally walked out of her old room, carrying a bag full of things that would last her for just the night. She'd brought Soul to protect her, but it looked as if she would be the one doing the protecting. She quickly approached the two and swung her fist twice through the air, making contact with her father's skull.

"Double Maka chop!" she proclaimed.

She then leaned down to the injured bump on the floor that was her father and pecked him on the cheek lightly. "I'll be okay, papa."

With that, she grabbed Soul and dragged him out of the complex before her father could regain his memories and start another argument.

"How could that man be your father?" Soul fumed as they entered the apartment they now shared. "He makes me sick."

"You get angry too easily," Maka noted, sitting the bag full of belongings down as she unstrapped her shoes. "That could be an issue if you're going to be around my father. Shinigami-sama himself said that my papa brings out the worst in people."

"Yeah, well, here's to hoping you're like your mother." Soul muttered without thinking. He was still brewing with anger that he didn't even realize what he had just said until Maka silently walked away. Sighing, he slumped down on the couch and hit his forehead.

_Idiot_, he said to himself multiple times. _You have to learn to think before you speak_. He didn't want to loose the only friend he had made at Shibusen so far – especially if that person was his partner.

Maka knew he didn't mean it in a hurtful way, but she couldn't help but to feel that way. She walked into her new room and sat her bag down on the twin bed and looked out of the window. The sun was half asleep as it lit up the air with an orange tint. She smiled at the snoring face – the sun was always more comforting than they moon that never blinked. She liked the view of the building tops she had from her room – they were on the fourth floor and the buildings that surrounded them were relatively small.

Reaching into her bag, she brought out a book that she had been re-reading for the past two days. It was a silly children's book about a pirate ship that could fly, but it reminded her of when her mother would tell her wild stories before she slept to give her good dreams. She ran her hand over the leather cover and allowed a wave of nostalgia to hit her.

A knock sounded at the door interrupted her memories. She put the book back in the bag and called for the knocker to come in.

Soul entered slowly and walked across the room, sitting on the edge of the bed. He beckoned for her to sit next to him. She complied, leaning her back against the headboard and facing his side.

"What I said before… I didn't mean it in the way you took it. I wasn't thinking." Soul explained with a small smile. "I don't wish you like your mother or father. I think you're doing a cool job at being yourself."

Maka beamed brightly at his statement. No one had ever said that to her before – she was always being compared to her father or mother. She had never been seen as an individual before. She loved her parents despite their flaws, but she wanted to make a name for herself and merge from behind their shadow, shocking everyone. Her desire for that was probably why she was so fueled to create a Death Scythe.

"You're the first person to say that," Maka admitted, explaining her sudden happy expression. "People always tell me that I'm growing up to be a woman just like Mama, but I don't want that. I don't want to run away from the people who love me!"

Soul patted Maka's hand comfortingly, understanding how she felt. When he was younger he idolized his mother, trying his hardest to be just like her. He resembled her so much that he took as a blessing, especially after she left, but his father saw it more as a curse. Even the fact that he had decided to play the piano like his mother gave reason for his father to resent him. When Soul had announced that he wanted to pursue his life as a weapon at Shibusen, he had tried not to let it hurt too much when his father was a bit overly enthusiastic about it.

He became tired of it a few days before he was to leave his home and changed his whole outer appearance. He styled his hair in a way that defied gravity and started to wear baggy clothes to hide his figure. He didn't want to be compared to his mother any longer, especially after he woke as a weapon.

From now on, both he and Maka were going to be their own person. They were going to work on it together.

"So, now that we're roomies, we should have a party," Soul suggested. "We could invite your friend Black Star and his partner over for dinner if you want."

"I think they would like that!" Maka exclaimed, before sheepishly adding, "I mean, I would like that."

"Go ahead and call them and we'll get dinner started. Can you cook?" Soul asked with a small frown. "I'm not the best out there."

Maka laughed. "Black Star will eat anything you put in front of him. Eatable or not."

"I haven't gone to the store in a week, so that's good," Soul replied, standing up. Maka followed suit.

She called Black Star at the apartment he used to live in with Sid. When Black Star turned 12, he threw a fit at being babied and promptly kicked Sid out in order to live on his own and be a man. At first Maka didn't understand why he did this when he told her over the phone the next day, but then she remembered that it _was_ Black Star.

"Yo," Black Star answered lazily. He sounded half asleep.

"Are you hungry?" Maka asked, not bothering to introduce herself. He should know her voice by now.

"How did you know?" Black Star shouted – he was awake now. "Who are you and how do you know these things? Why do you sound like Maka?"

"Because this is Maka, you idiot." Maka sighed. It seemed she'd suspected too much out of her childhood friend. "I'm inviting you and Tsubaki over for dinner at Soul's apartment for dinner!"

"Tsubaki and I will be there!" Black Star boomed in his naturally loud voice. He paused. "Where is 'there' exactly?"

Maka handed the phone over to Soul and allowed him to give directions to his place. She was comfortable enough with calling it their place just yet – it felt too soon. Everything was happening at such a fast pace, she really wasn't sure what to do.

Seeing that Soul had already sat out a few options for dinner, Maka decided on combining the various vegetables with meat and make her stir fry. She turned on the oven – it was a newer model then what she was used to, but she was able to manage – and listened with a smile as Soul tried to explain the directions in a way Black Star would understand them.

"What do you mean which Main Street? There's only one! It's the main street of Death City! … Are you writing this down? … You probably should. … How can you call me an idiot? You're the one who can't understand simple directions! … I'll stop yelling at you when you stop being- … Yeah, put her on the phone, I can't handle you anymore."

Soul's voice was strained as he tried not to shout. A vein pulsated in his neck. Maka stifled a giggle at the sight – it took a special person with a lot of a patience to handle Black Star. She managed just barely, so she felt bad for his partner. But from what she saw earlier that day, she could tell that Tsubaki was able to tolerate a lot of people. For her sake, Maka hoped that Black Star was one of them.

After a few more minutes of ease, Soul pressed end on the house phone with an exasperated sigh.

"That wore me out," he mumbled, slumping in a chair. He then sniffed the air. "Smells good, what is it?"

"Stir fry," Maka replied as she moved the ingredients around in the pan. "Since these are from your fridge I guess it's safe to say that you don't have allergies to them?"

"Yeah," Soul nodded sarcastically. "I don't normally buy things that could kill me…"

"I was just asking! No need to respond like that," Maka snapped as she narrowed her eyes. "Next time I'll make sure to add poison!"

"There you go jumping to violence again! Why are you so violent?"

"Because I'm a witch. I'm going to turn you into a frog, and then I'm going to poison you!" Maka raised her voice, turning her back to the stove.

"Just poison? Are you sure you wouldn't want to crush me? It seems like you like that kind of stuff!" Soul shouted, sitting up straight in his chair.

"It is sounding pretty tempting right now!" Maka shouted at an equal level. She briefly wondered if they were disturbing the otherwise quite complex, but she was too annoyed to care.

They carried on for a while longer, only stopping when Maka nearly burned the food. Of course, Soul made a comment about that and it picked back up again. Without realizing it, they both crossed the room with each shout, getting closer and closer until they were just a foot away from each other.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Black Star walked in, causing the two fighting partners to go silent in surprise. Tsubaki leaned in the door frame from the hallway and smiled apologetically.

"We knocked first, but you were too busy fighting to hear us… Black Star decided it was the best way to get food," she explained as she stepped in slowly. "Sorry for interrupting."

Maka blinked a few times as the anger drained out of her. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she quickly put the still hot food on four different plates.

"I'm starving! You guys must be, too. I know fighting always works up an appetite for me," Black Star said as he happily grabbed the plate his childhood friend handed him. He made note that Soul had to walk over and get his own.

"Sorry about that…" Maka said slowly as she sat on one of the maroon pillows next to Soul. "Our personalities seem to clash."

A short silence fell over the four as Maka and Soul had an unspoken moment of apologies.

"Thank you for inviting us over to your apartment for dinner, Soul," Tsubaki said when she found that the two partners had forgiven each other.

"Well, it's our apartment now," Soul replied with a nod to Maka, "and she made the food."

"You guys are living together now? Is that what Sid-sensei meant when he listed examples for us to strengthen our wavelengths?" Tsubaki questioned before she forked some of the stir fry into her mouth, chewing happily. It had a sweet taste to it.

"Yeah, I think it's a good idea surprisingly. Obviously Soul and I are going to fight a lot, but I think I can adjust to his stupidity." Maka teased after she swallowed her mouthful of food. It wasn't her best due to the fight being a distraction, but it was good enough.

"I'll try to adjust to your violence, but it might take a while," Soul replied in the same teasing manner.

Black Star devoured the last bit on his plate. He had been silent the whole time because his mouth had been full of Maka's delicious cooking. She usually only cooked for him once a year – his birthday – so this was definitely a treat. His ears quirked at the conversation.

"Tsubaki, you should move in with me!" he proclaimed, his mouth still full. "I could turn you into a Death Scythe without it, but a little help never hurt anyone."

Tsubaki blinked in surprise before responding. "Okay, sounds good!"

The four Shibusen students talked for a bit longer over their dinner. Black Star of course had seconds, and thirds, within this time frame while everyone else was still in the middle of their first servings. No one seemed to mind though, especially Maka. She always enjoyed when others complimented her cooking by eating all of it.

Maka learned that Tsubaki was a multi-weapon and could turn into many different things. Black Star didn't have trouble with any of her forms, unlike most beginning technicians, but he liked the chain scythe mode best. She also noted that when Tsubaki smiled, it wasn't with tolerance, but with adoration – motherly, almost. Maka was happy that her longtime friend was able to find such a perfect partner.

Despite their earlier differences, Soul and Black Star hit it off quickly. They were both interested in a lot of the same things, namely thinking and convincing others that they were ultra cool. By the end of the night, they were both laughing at each other's jokes as if they'd been best friends for years, sometimes ignoring the two girls who just smiled pleasantly at each other.

"Thanks for the grub, Maka," Black Star said as he put on his shoes. It was late and Tsubaki was falling asleep, signaling that it was time for them to leave.

"You're welcome!" Maka sang with a wave. "Bye, Tsubaki, I'll see you guys tomorrow in class!"

When the door shut behind them, Soul collapsed on the couch with a sigh. "You're cooking every night. That was the best meal I've had in a long time."

"Oh, no, I'm not cooking every night! You're insane for thinking that." Maka said with softness in her voice. She couldn't snap at someone who had just complimented her.

"Okay, every other night. We'll take turns," Soul suggested from his resting spot on the couch. His voice was husky with sleepiness, causing Maka to smile. He was so much like a child…

"We'll talk about it tomorrow," she said, walking across the living room towards her room. "We had a big day tomorrow, and we both need sleep!"

"Yeah… Sleep…" Soul mumbled as he slipped off into unconsciousness. His breathing deepened, telling Maka that he had fallen asleep before he could even move off the couch.

Shaking her head, she grabbed a thick blanket from off of the back of the couch and placed it over his sleeping form. He didn't look so annoying when he was sleeping, she noticed. Patting his hair affectionately, she turned and walked towards her room.

"Thank you… Maka…" Soul mumbled again, barely coherent.

"Anytime," she whispered in reply, knowing that he didn't hear her. "After all, we're partners now. We have to look after each other."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater.

**A/N:** This chapter was going to end a lot sooner and be posted a bit later, but you guys and your awesome reviews made me throw on an extra 3.5k words as well as post it sooner. Longest chapter yet, and I can keep them getting longer if you guys keep the reviews coming! They boost my ego ;D

We're going to be seeing quite a lot of direct Soul/Maka in this chapter to buffer what's about to happen. It's not extremely fluffy, but you probably won't see this much for a few more chapters, so soak it up, lovies.

Oh – another side note – for the book that is going to be talked about in this chapter, I just made it up. So don't ask me what book it is because it doesn't exist. Yet? Haha.

* * *

Months passed and the two unlikely friends grew closer to each other than they ever had with anyone. Their personalities clashed more often than they both would have liked, but they grew to accept it. That's just the way their relationship worked. Both being beginners, they hadn't been allowed to go on more than one mission a month until they earned their first star – which they had received just two weeks before. They were further ahead the others thanks to the fight with the kishin egg at the beginning of their first year, but it was still mainly school. Or mainly school for Maka – Soul skipped seventy percent of the time to hang out with Black Star, expecting her to update them on what they missed while on one of their stupid adventures.

Maka had many friendships other than Soul. Since he and Black Star were growing so close, it was only natural for Tsubaki and Maka to hang out more while the boys were gone. Maka enjoyed Tsubaki's peaceful company – their time together was usually spent in silence during a romance flick or giggling over stories about their partners.

For the classes that Black Star and Tsubaki weren't in with Soul and Maka, Maka had befriended a girl named Kim. She wasn't sure why, but the moment Kim began talking, Maka knew they had to be friends. It wasn't a mistake, either, considering they had so much in common. The only bad thing about her was her shadow. Ox Ford, who was without a doubt in love with Kim, followed the two everywhere they went, adding his two cents whenever he felt it was needed. Ox was the only person who threatened Maka intellectually in her class – reason in its self not to like him – and he was also one of the most annoying people in Shibusen, respectably.

Soul didn't seem to like Ox too much, either. When Maka questioned him about this, he claimed that it was the same reasons as Maka. But once, Black Star had let it slip that Soul had suspected Ox of liking Maka instead of Kim and had gotten angry.

"Why would he get angry about that?" Maka asked, blinking in confusion.

"Because I don't like his character!" Soul shouted in his defense, a little too loudly. "He seems shady, that's all."

Of course, everyone except Maka shook their head in disbelief.

"Oi, Maka," Soul said from the couch of the apartment they now shared. He was absently clicking through the channels, not finding anything interesting on. "Remember that it's your turn to cook tonight."

"How could I forget with you telling me every five seconds?" Maka snapped, giving her fist a shake in Soul's direction. "Should I even try with the stunt you pulled yesterday?"

"What are you talking about?" Soul asked innocently. "I cooked the meal to perfection."

"You heated up pizza! How is that cooking? Didn't we make a deal?"

Soul sighed and looked away from the television and at Maka. She was standing in her house clothes – a pair of shorts and a tank top – with her hair in two silly buns on the side of her head. Her bare arms were crossed over her chest and her face was pinched. All signs that he was about to be abused.

"Fine," he said smoothly. "If you want to make ramen or something, feel free. I'm not asking for a feast."

"You're an idiot," Maka shot, turning her back to him and opening the fridge, pulling out a package of meat.

Soul smiled in triumph at his victory. Reverse psychology worked so well on Maka that he sometimes wondered if she had been the test subject for it in the beginning. He turned his back to her once more and faced the TV, still smiling over his winning. He watched the news absentmindedly, allowing his mind to wander anywhere but where he was.

His eyes began drifting closed as his mind took him away from reality and into his subconscious. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before due to a mixture of having a headache thanks to one of Maka's infamous chops and his growing insomnia. Shibusen was taking a toll on him in the best and worst ways.

Maka couldn't help but smile to herself when she heard the small snores coming from her best friend. Her life had changed in so many ways since becoming a Shibusen student a year before, and she couldn't think of very many cons. She had never been tempted once to use her magic, even out of sheer laziness, and her real reflection was showing up in the mirror lately. It had been for almost six months now.

She felt herself grow stronger emotionally ever day as she fought her mental battles silently. Sometimes, when Sid-sensei was talking about how all witches were evil and deserved to die by birth, Maka couldn't help but to feel a mixture of offense and guilt. No matter how witches were trashed – within good reason for the most part, of course – Maka tried not to let it get to her. On the days that Soul was in the training classes, he would usually send her little notes saying 'you're not like that' in his chicken scratch handwriting.

No matter how angry he made her, she could always count on him to cheer her up in a time of need.

Tonight for dinner she decided to do an Americanized recipe she learned from Kim with a little of her Japanese flare to it. She added a bit of soy sauce to the hamburger patty and sprinkled cheese on the raw meat, throwing it on the small griddle her father had gotten her for her birthday two years ago. She had experimented with it before and thought it tasted okay, so she hoped Soul would like it as well.

She made four, wondering if that would be enough to appease Soul's appetite, and walked over to the couch where her sleeping partner snored lightly. Having learned that it wasn't always the best idea to touch a sleeping Soul, she hovered over him smiling.

In less than a minute, a sleepy crimson eye opened. Soul sniffed the air, pleased to find that Maka had decided to cook instead of throwing together something he would use as a snack. He promised himself that he would actually cook something for her tomorrow – he usually slacked off while she usually went all out.

"Supper is ready," she said, turning around and walking to the table that she had just set. She plopped down on one of the maroon pillows and waited for Soul to follow.

"Cheeseburgers?" Soul questioned as he quirked an eyebrow. Over the past year Maka had made lots of things, but none of them where like this. She took pride in her Japanese culture.

"It's something Kim made last week when I went over her and Jackie's place," Maka said with a wave of her hand. "I liked it, so I made it. I added soy sauce though, if that's okay. I thought it would taste good."

Soul took a bite and smiled through his chewing and nodded, telling her that her experiment passed. Satisfied, they ate in silence as Soul watched TV from the corner of his eye and Maka read the new book she picked up yesterday.

Soul devoured all three of his servings it what seemed to be less than two bites each around the same time Maka finished her first one. He flashed his sharp teeth sheepishly when she gave him a look of wonderment

"Are you a human or a vacuum?" she teased, grabbing the plates and walking over to the sink, putting them in. Since she cooked, Soul was going to clean. They worked out a system early on in their living situation so that they wouldn't fight. It worked for the most part.

"Are you a human or a library?" Soul replied, holding her book by his index finger and thumb as if it was toxic. "Weren't you reading a different book yesterday? How lame."

"Give that back!" Maka swiped at the book, but only her fingertips were able to touch it before Soul reared back, flipping through the pages.

"A romance novel?" He smirked. "You're such a girl."

"Maka chop!" Maka screeched as she brought down her fist heavily, making contact with Soul's face. She hoped he would be nursing his wounds long enough for her blush to disappear. "You should try reading sometimes! Maybe you wouldn't be so stupid!"

"Maybe you should try being cool, you wouldn't be so violent!"

"There you go with coolness again," Maka snapped. "You are the most uncool person I've ever met!"

"Now you know that isn't true," Soul replied, standing up, handing over the book with one hand and rubbing his head with the other.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." she shot, yanking her book away from his grasp. "I'll have you know this is an _action_ romance!"

"I'm sure there is a lot of _action_ in it," Soul laughed, collapsing on the couch and grabbing the remote.

Maka huffed and stormed to her room. She didn't bother to slam the door because she wasn't angry, just embarrassed. Most of the time Soul didn't tease her for reading because the books were about action and gore, which he considered cool. She didn't normally read romances, but when she read the summary she had to buy it because it reminded her so much of the way her parents met, give or take a few details.

The two main characters were American spies and partners in present time. They were sent on a mission to Russia to discover the next plan in their attack in the ongoing war. One spy, Amber, was secretly a spy for Russia who had surpassed all filters in the American government, and her mission was to kill her partner – Parker – who was the best spy his country could give. However, while facing dangerous situations, Amber discovered that she had grown to care for Parker in a way that she shouldn't. Her emotions conflicted with the path she was supposed to follow, making her true mission the hardest she'd ever done.

She hadn't gotten very far into the plot, but her mental images were skewed to feature her parents. In her mind, her father was the strong, stubborn Parker and her mother was the sly, heartless Amber. Parker brought out the best in Amber and Maka liked to think, for the fleeting time that they were together, her dad brought out the best in her mother.

Of course, if she told Soul any of this, he would probably laugh even harder.

A loud crash from outside her door jolted her out of the imaginary land starring her father and mother. She jumped up and ran into the hallway, hoping nothing too terrible was wrong. Her eyes darted around the living room, not seeing Soul on the couch where she'd left him.

"S-Soul?" she called quietly, fearing what she would find. She took a tentative step out of the hallway…

"Maka!" a voice shouted as a whir of blue hair popped out of the corner of her eye, leaping onto her, dragging her down. As she was being brought down, she saw Soul standing with his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

Maka screamed and punched the assailant as hard as she could to get him off of her. Her fist ached with the impact, but the body that lay on top of her barely budged. Her eyes flew open – she had closed them when the two went flying to the floor – and saw Black Star's toothy grin.

"Black Star, you idiot!" she shouted, punching him in the stomach. That seemed to do the trick. He crumbled off of her and onto the floor, gasping for a second before regaining composure. Maka jumped up as Black Star began to laugh manically. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Have you ever heard of a phone? Why don't you knock next time, you –!"

"I did knock!" Black Star claimed with an over exaggerated offended expression.

"– idiot, and wait for someone to let you in!" Maka continued, throwing her hands around in annoyance. Her heart was still pounding from the scare her childhood friend had given her.

"I tried to stop him, but you know how that usually goes." Maka heard Tsubaki sigh from the kitchen. The beautiful weapon leaned from around the corner and smiled a greeting and an apology at her friend.

Maka breathed in deeply and calmed down. She could never stay angry at Black Star for too long – she had grown accustomed to his childish behavior over the long years they'd been friends. She held out her hand to help him off the floor, showing all was forgiven.

"Now that's over…" Soul began, sending a smirk towards his partner. "What was the reason for you two to come over? We already had dinner…"

"We didn't come here for food," Tsubaki said as she swatted Black Star away from the refrigerator. They had all made their way to the kitchen now. "We wanted to remind you that the Christmas Eve dance is next week! Are you going this year?"

Last year Maka and Soul had been called on their December mission the day before the dance, and it had lasted longer than they originally planned. They never made concrete plans to go to the dance – both of them just assumed they would be going together – so they weren't that disappointed. If anything, Tsubaki was more upset then the both of them combined when Maka had called her during the day of the dance to let her know she and Soul wouldn't make it.

"We already did our mission this month, so yeah, I guess," Soul answered lazily.

"Yeah, I'll be there," Maka agreed with a smile. She paused. "I'm going to need to get a dress though. I've grown a little since last year…"

"Not in the right areas," Soul pointed out, looking at Maka's chest.

Her face grew red with his comment and gave him a Maka chop, sending him to the ground. She didn't need to tell him why since he knew it was coming anyway. No matter how many times she hit him for it, he always said perverted things about the lack of cleavage she had.

"We can go shopping tomorrow if you'd like! I need to get a dress as well… Maybe you could call Kim and Jackie too?" Tsubaki suggested happily, clapping her hands together once. Even though she was a homebody, she loved to go shopping and would jump at any chance to go.

"Sounds fun! I'll call them later," Maka responded happily, shoving Soul back down when he tried to stand. He landed with an _oomph_.

"Great! What about you, Soul? Black Star needs a new tie since he's using his only one for his homemade at home gym." Tsubaki looked down at Soul who had given up on standing. At first, Maka and Soul's relationship had troubled her – she wondered if they should get new partners. But then she found that they had a friendship similar to hers with Black Star… They just had very different ways of showing it.

"I guess I could use a new dress shirt," Soul mumbled.

"So the women will get our stuff while the men watch TV all day!" Black Star shouted happily. "Thanks, Tsubaki!"

"Oh no, the women are going to get _their_ stuff, while the men get _their_ stuff." Maka rolled her eyes.

"Fine," Black Star pouted. "But we're going separately because I don't want to have to hold bags like I always end up doing."

"Okay," Tsubaki smiled. "Well, Black Star and I should get going. We just wanted to stop by on our way home to make these plans. Bye, Maka! Sorry, again."

"No problem. Bye, Tsubaki," Maka laughed with a wave. She stepped away from Soul, allowing him to finally get up.

He walked over to the door and gave Black Star a high five before shutting the door. He turned on his heel and shuffled over to the couch and sat down. He leaned his head back so it hung upside down over the back of the couch and looked at Maka, giving her a lazy smile.

Rolling her eyes, she walked over to the couch and sat next to him. She was going to mention that the dirty dishes were still sitting in the sink, but she decided it wasn't important. She did, however, frown when Soul tossed his jacket carelessly on the floor. She raised her eyebrows and stared at him until he sighed and picked it up.

She slid down deeper into the couch and smiled to herself, enjoying the relaxation. She mulled over what had just happened in her book, taking stabs at what was going to come up next. Part of her wanted to get up and go see, but another part told her it was best to stay seated next to Soul and chill out.

"So," Soul began casually. "Do you want me to be your escort to the dance?"

Maka opened her left eye and looked curiously at her friend. "That depends. Are you going to dance, or are you just going to sit and mope in the corner trying to be cool?"

"I'll dance," Soul sighed. "But no promises."

"Are you any good? I haven't danced in years. I was pretty awful then," Maka admitted. She opened both eyes and studied her partner. He didn't look as tired today since he had gotten that short nap, but a light purple shade of bags where still there. His hair continued to defy gravity as it stuck up in different directions, only tamed by his thick beige headband. At a first glance, his appearance looked laid back, but Maka knew that it took him some effort.

"My mom made me take lessons when I was younger," was his reply as he stared blankly at the wall. Maka frowned. He always got that way when he talked about his mother, even in the passive of ways. She tried her hardest to not bring up subjects that could relate to her, but sometimes, such as now, she couldn't control it.

On a summer day when the two had gone on a walk in the park after school, Soul had confessed that he hadn't seen his mother in almost a year and some odd months. He explained to her why he had decided to go to Shibusen to begin with – to break all musical ties and comparisons to his mother who had left him just as Maka's mother had left her.

"That's good," she said extra cheerfully. "Then you can lead me!"

"Dancing is not cool," Soul muttered before glancing at his best friend. "But if that's what you want, fine."

* * *

"So did Ox ask you to the dance?" Maka asked Kim as they walked down the sidewalk, swinging their bags of food.

Tsubaki had shown up right when she said she would – Maka suspected she stood in the hallway and waited, but her friend looked innocent as possible – and then they had stopped by to pick up Kim and Jackie. They hadn't even stepped into the first shop before they all complained about being hungry, so they decided to go and get a quick lunch of sushi before starting their day of shopping.

"Yes," Kim stuck out her tongue and made a face. "I said no, but he's telling people I'm his date. So I guess I have no choice."

"He did the same thing last year, remember?" Jackie reminded with a bemused expression. "And you danced with him for free!"

"It was one dance, Jackie. What kind of girl do you think I am?" Kim shot, her face twisted in a mock angry expression.

"I think it's nice that you tolerate Ox-kun even though he annoys you," Tsubaki said with a smile. She stopped in front of a store and peered inside the window. "Let's go in here first."

The other three girls followed the beautiful multi-weapon inside, all secretly wishing they were as pretty as her.

"Speaking of toleration," Jackie said as they stepped into the fancy looking shop. "How do you manage with Black Star? You think you're sly with those faces you make, but I've seen them more then enough times to count!"

"Black Star has an outrageous personality to say the least," Tsubaki giggled. "But he's a really sweet person with good intentions."

"Yeah," Maka agreed. "He may not be all there, but he's a good guy."

"Plus he's really cute!" Kim laughed as she looked through a clothes rack. She looked up at Tsubaki over the rack and smiled. "Don't you think so?"

Tsubaki ducked her head and blushed, pretending to be extremely interested in the piece of fabric she was holding. She didn't want to answer yes or no because, in a way, Black Star was like a brother to her – even though Maka pointed out she treated him like her child.

"What about you, Maka? Living with the coolest guy at Shibusen must be so difficult," Jackie teased knowing that Soul made Maka angry more than anyone else.

"Ooh, yeah, Soul is definitely cute," Kim gushed with a grin. "I know you think that, too, Maka so don't try to deny it!"

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Maka said with a playful smile. She wasn't finding much in this store, but it looked like Tsubaki had found a few things. She would wait patiently for her friends to finish before saying anything.

"We let Tsubaki off the hook, but it's not going to be easy for you!" Kim exclaimed, poking her friend in the side. She jumped at the electrical shock that seemed to happen every time she touched Maka. At first, they had laughed at it, but lately she was becoming suspicious.

"Okay, okay, Soul is cute," Maka caved with a giggle. "Now can you stop shocking me?"

Kim wagged her fingers playfully and turned around, hiding her frown. This only happened when she touched other witches while her Soul Protection was on. Even though it wasn't as strong as when it'd happened before to others, there was no doubt of the feeling she got whenever she came in contact with witches. But it had to be something else because, after all, this was Maka. She'd never seen anyone so human before – plus Kim had never noticed her at the witch council meetings.

"I told you they would be talking about us!" Black Star's voice shouted. It came directly behind Maka, causing her to jump out of her skin.

"What are you doing here?" she barked, clenching her fist and ready to hit her childhood friend for scaring her for the second time in two days.

"Experimenting! Getting inside the mind of a woman!" he proclaimed triumphantly. "Soul thought – "

"You thought," Soul corrected, walking out slowly from behind a wall.

"_We_ thought," Black Star continued with a roll of his eyes, "that following you into this girly store would help answer a few of our questions." He winked at Kim.

"You're here, too, Soul?" Maka exclaimed, tightening her fist. "How long have you guys been standing there?"

"Long enough," Soul replied nonchalantly as he lazily looked around the store.

"I'm so proud of you, Black Star! I didn't even know you were there for at least two minutes! You're improving!" Tsubaki clapped with a happy grin. Black Star had potential to be a great assassin; he just didn't know how to keep quite long enough to get to the assassination part.

"Don't congratulate them – they were spying!" Maka accused. She hated eavesdroppers more than anything – especially when they heard something they could use against her in the future.

Knowing this, Soul stayed silent as he grabbed his friend by the collar and dragged him out of the store. Once they were safely outside, they began laughing and running like mad out of fear that Maka would chase after them.

"You're going to be hearing about that later!" Kim joked in attempt to lighten her friend's mood. "Just give him the ol' one two."

Maka smiled and rolled her eyes realizing it wasn't that bad. She noticed that the spying wasn't what annoyed her; it was the fact that she had called Soul cute. She had called him cute so many times before to his face – what made this time so different? She shook the silliness out of her head.

"Let's go to the next store," Jackie suggested. "I'm not finding much in here."

The others agreed and walked to the boutique they had started for before they decided to get lunch. It seemed to be the perfect place for all four of them – they almost instantly found something they liked. Kim was holding a light orange dress that came just below her knees with a halter top to tie on the back of her neck. Jackie found a dark blue dress that started an angle at her thigh and made its way to her knee. Tsubaki seemed pleased with a pale yellow floor length dress that had a slit running up the right side.

Maka's eyes immediately went to a short black cocktail dress with pinkish red trimmings on the end. The straps were in a thin spaghetti style that crossed down the swoop in the back. The top was high enough to detour from any comments about her lack of chest size, but low enough to not be so conservative. She smiled and ran her hand over the silky material.

"Maka, that dress will look so awesome on you!" Kim exclaimed, rushing over with the orange dress in hand. "Let's go try our stuff on and see!"

The four girls giggled as they let themselves into the dressing rooms, kicking off their shoes and tugging off their casual clothes. They slipped on the dresses, praying that the fit would be comfortable and they didn't have to go up or down a size. Luckily for them, they knew their correct size – thanks to Shibusen's updated uniform log – and the dresses clung to them just right. They exited to admire the other's dresses.

The girls complimented each other for a good five minutes before going back into the changing rooms and slowly putting back on their normal clothes. Once finished, they each paid for their dresses, which were thankfully not too expensive, and left feeling satisfied with what they had accomplished in such a short time.

"Thanks for inviting us, Maka." Jackie smiled as they came closer to her apartment she shared with her partner. "I had a lot of fun."

"Me, too," Kim added. "Especially since we were spied on by cute boys!" She winked at Maka and stuck her tongue out in a playful manner.

"I don't know what boys you saw," Maka teased in return, "but the boys who spied on us weren't that cute."

"Whatever you say," Jackie winked.

Electricity filled the air, playing on Maka's heart strings violently. She stopped walking and felt her bags slip through her fingers, crashing to the ground. Her body felt far away, but all of her nerves were on fire with intensity. A wavelength that she was connected to in ways it couldn't be to any one else was near. Dangerously near.

Maka started running in the direction she felt the surge of power come from in a careless way. She didn't bother looking out for cars or other people; she just kept running in a straight line as hard as she could. She hadn't felt this kind of presence in years. Not since that day with her father.

Her mother.

She heard her friends call for her – part of her wanted to stop running and tell them what was wrong, but her legs kept moving forward. Her mother was in Death City. Why? Was she here to whisk Maka away and have them live together again in Carson City? Was she here to remind her daughter that she was a witch and couldn't run from it? A million questions and theories pounded in Maka's head as she ran faster. The wavelength started to fade out with her hope – if her mother wanted to be found she would just make herself found.

Suddenly she crashed into someone who tightened their grip around her arms and held her up, preventing her from falling. It was another familiar wavelength that she had grown almost as close to as her own mother. Soul.

She tried to tug away, but he wouldn't let her leave. Her face was twisted in a distressed way that scared him. Her eyes were wide open, but it didn't look like she was seeing anything – they looked right through him. She put her hands on his forearms and tried her hardest to yank away, but it was useless. Realizing this, she collapsed in his arms and began to cry.

At first it was quiet sniffling – the only sign that there were tears were the wetness on his jacket sleeve – but it eventually escalated into sobs. Her grip tightened on Soul's jacket and she buried her face deep into his chest, dropping to her knees. Soul's eyes widened, not sure what to do. He'd never seen his best friend cry before that wasn't in result of getting injured, and even that was just a few tears and a curse. Doing the only thing he could think of doing, he released his grip on her arms and snaked his arms around her, bringing her even closer in a hug.

In that moment, they were closer than they had ever been.

The others caught up and, noticing the sight before them, slowly backed up and gave the two friends space. Black Star did the same, but he wasn't as quiet. He kept trying to see what Tsubaki had bought, but she just stared at her friend in confusion. One minute she was fine, and the next she was running through the streets away from them as fast as she could.

After a few more minutes of Maka's crying, Soul crouched down so that he was at eye level with her. He lifted her face with a finger by her chin and flashed her a slow, sharp smile. He leaned his forehead against his best friend in attempt to calm her down – he was showing her that she wasn't as alone as her eyes were telling him she thought.

"Hey now, it isn't cool to see your partner cry like this and not know what's wrong," he said low enough so that only she could hear.

Slowly, the tears stopped coming and her eyes weren't glassed over anymore. Maka slowly ran her sleeve over her face so that it cleaned up the tears on her face. She sniffed a few times in attempt to regain her composure. Suddenly she was very aware of the presence of all of her friends surrounding her – they probably thought she was crazy for this outburst.

"We'll leave you two alone," Kim said with a small, worried smile. "Your stuff is right here. Call me later, okay?"

With that, the four turned and left in silence, none of them wanting to talk about what had just happened within ear shot of their friend. What had happened to make Maka act in such a way? None of them except Black Star had ever seen her cry so hard before, if at all.

"Soul must really care about Maka," Tsubaki noted as she walked away with her partner. "I've never seen him act that way before."

"Yeah," Black Star replied, "he really does."

Black Star knew those tears. He hid his frown as he chatted loudly with Tsubaki about how his shopping day went. He couldn't stop thinking of the time when Maka came to visit her dad when he was eleven, only to find out she was staying for good. He had just seen her mother a few months before when they came down for the holidays; it was so weird to think such a nice woman could leave their daughter. When Maka was explaining why she wasn't going back to Carson City, she started to cry so hard she got the hiccups. She cried like that every so often until she turned twelve and decided to grow up.

Thinking of this, Black Star only got angry. What had that woman done to upset Maka like that? As far as he knew, the mother and daughter hadn't seen each other in four years, but maybe Maka didn't tell him everything like he thought.

Soul helped Maka stand and grabbed the bag that Kim had left them. They walked in silence all the way back to their apartment, having an unspoken agreement that Maka would explain once they got there. He watched his friend carefully to make sure she wasn't going to have a fit again just to be safe even though he was sure she was going to be okay now. He didn't have much to go off of except her peaceful expression, but it seemed enough.

When they arrived at the apartment, Maka took her bag from her partner and walked over to the couch. She put her head in her hands while resting her elbows on her knees in a slouched position. Her mind raced as she looked around the apartment in attempt to calm down. She felt like someone had injected adrenaline into her bloodstream and it wouldn't go away.

"What happened back there?" Soul began slowly as he made his way to the couch as well. "It doesn't seem like you to…"

He trailed off and pursed his lips. After that moment in the alley way with them so close, he wasn't sure if he knew Maka so well after all. He sensed something in those minutes that he couldn't name, but it wasn't like anything he'd ever felt when they fought together. She still hadn't let him very close to her soul, so was it that he felt?

He took off his headband that was hovering over his eyes so that he could see her face fully. He frowned when he saw that it was blank.

"I found the perfect dress," she smiled, reaching into her shopping bag. "I hope we match, but I guess it'll be okay if we don't."

"What?" Soul nearly shouted, his eyes widening. Why was she talking about her dress and not why she broke down crying earlier? "Don't change the subject, Maka, tell me what happened!"

Maka sighed and slouched over again in defeat. She knew her aversion wasn't going to work, but she figured she would try it anyways.

"I thought I felt my mother's wavelength," she admitted finally, bunching up her skirt in her hands. "I was so sure I had, but then it disappeared so fast. I must have been imagining things."

Soul exhaled and leaned against the couch, not sure what to think. It was hard to believe that, after four years, Maka's mother suddenly appeared in Death City. However, he knew Maka had strong Soul Perception, even being a witch, so he believed her.

"I don't think you were imagining it." He knew it was all he had to say to make his friend feel sane.

"Part of me wishes I did," Maka confessed, looking slowly at Soul. He was looking at her curiously without sympathy or pity, which she was thankful of. The last thing she wanted was to be belittled by the only person she felt she could confess this to.

"Now we need to figure out why she's here. Maybe she's come to her senses," Soul offered positively. He had a feeling that it wasn't the case, but he didn't want to upset Maka.

"I wonder if papa has heard from her," she mused out loud. "But if he did, he would have told me by now."

"He probably would have told you," Soul agreed with a sigh. "I guess there's nothing else to do now but wait, right?"

"Yeah," Maka said sadly.

She wanted to do something now, but Soul was right. There was nothing to do that was in Maka's ability range. She thought back to her tears earlier and how heartbroken she had felt when the feeling of her mother's wavelength blew away with the wind. She hated more than anything knowing she was in the same city as the woman who left her so many years before and not being able to find her as easily as she wished. She could think about how horrible everything was for days with this situation.

She heard Soul get up and walk over to the kitchen to start dinner. Curling up, she rested her head on the armrest of the cream couch and dozed of.

* * *

"Maka, my adorable puppy," a sweet voice called as Maka felt her hair being brushed back, "please wake up so I can talk to you!"

"Soul?" Maka mumbled. She winced at the bright light and tried her hardest to open her eyes, but no matter how hard she tried, they wouldn't open all the way. She peered at the figure through her eyelashes in confusion. It didn't look like Soul's gravity defying hairstyle… Her breath caught in her throat. The sweeping outline of dirty blonde hair… the voice…

"No," Kami's warm honey voice laughed. "This is your mother, Maka."

The light when away and Maka was able to open her eyes. She was still sitting on the couch in her apartment that she shared with Soul, but he was no where to be found. Did he leave in order to give the mother and daughter alone time?

"Mama?" Maka's voice was watery as her eyes filled with tears. "Mama! Have you come back for me?"

She felt like she was a little girl again as she flung herself into her mother's arms. Her body tingled happiness at the touch. She breathed in the smell of her mother and smiled – lilies were her signature scent. It felt so like home to smell it again.

"Not yet," Kami said slowly. "But soon, Maka-chan. Soon we'll be together again. And then I can teach you so many new things. You're capable of so much, my pet; you just haven't realized it yet."

"I'm doing the best I can at Shibusen, but I really could use some help," Maka admitted, looking up at her lovely mother. Kami's blue eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked down at her cute, young daughter. "I want you to teach me how to be the best meister so that I can turn Soul into a Death Scythe!"

Kami's face twisted in disgust for a moment before she smoothed it out into a calm and loving way once more.

"I'm not talking about Shibusen, Maka. I'm talking about magic," the mother whispered in her daughter's ear.

Maka's eyes widened as she gasped. Why would her mother want to teach her more magic? Didn't she know that she wasn't allowed to use it as a student of Shibusen? Things must have been different when she was in school. Maka opened her mouth to protest, but she slipped away from her mother's grasp before she could.

Suddenly, she was falling. She watched as she slipped from off of the cream couch and sailed downward through the air. She was scared silent as her heart pounded in her chest and she flailed her limbs. She desperately searched for something to hold on to so that she didn't fall all the way to the bottom, but the only thing her hands touched was air. She glanced down in the direction she was falling to see that it looked bottomless. She still flailed in despair, sure she would find _something_.

Finally, she hit something and grasped onto it as tightly as she could. She opened her eyes that had been squeezed shut out of fear on the way down to see Soul holding her tightly by the waist. He flashed a grin full of sharp teeth and slowly brought her closer until their faces were just inches apart. He leaned his head on her shoulder and breathed heavily as if he had just finished running three miles in gym. He slowly moved his head over so that his lips were pressed against her neck…

They were falling, Maka noticed. Falling together.

"Oi, Maka," Soul whispered, tightening his grip. "Wake up. What's wrong with you?"

Maka's eyes flew open again. She stopped thrashing about and realized she was back on the couch except her mother wasn't there. When she noticed her surroundings seemed much more real, she realized what had just happened was just a dream. She caught her breath and sat up, rubbing her eyes until she saw things clearer.

Soul was standing over her with his eyes narrowed and a small frown on his face. His arms were crossed as he inspected his best friend to make sure nothing was physically wrong with her. Deciding that it was nothing more than a bad dream, he shrugged.

"Dinner's ready," he said passively, turning his back and giving his partner some space.

Actions like that made all of their downfalls and arguments worth it, Maka thought.

* * *

A week passed and, slowly, Maka began regaining her composure. After she explained to Kim, Jackie, and Tsubaki that the reason she freaked out so badly was due to stress – a half-assed excuse, but it was the only one she could think of – it was almost as if the incident had never happened. She was afraid that her dream and the sensing of her mother's wavelength would trigger her distorted reflection, but when she looked in the mirror no one but herself stared back.

Sometimes she would catch Soul looking at her curiously, but that was beginning to stop now that she was acting like her usual self again. She buried herself in school work, which wasn't hard due to the two week break coming up, and even helped herself to Soul's work. Although he didn't complain, it bothered him a little that she was busying herself so much. Luckily, she became drained and slowed down as the end of the week approached.

"You aren't done with that book yet?" Soul asked idly as they rested on the couch in silence before it was time to get ready for the Shibusen Anniversary and Christmas Eve dance.

"I finished it for the second time yesterday," Maka replied as she tucked her bookmark into the bind of the page she was on. "I don't like the ending very much."

"It's not going to change if you read it more than once, you know." Soul pointed out with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"I know," Maka smiled. "But I'm just trying to digest it."

She had invested so much into picturing the characters to be like her parents that when the book reached the end, she didn't want to accept it. Especially since it wasn't what she was expecting. In the end, Parker – the American spy – had been killed trying to protect his not so loyal partner Amber. It wasn't done by her, but by an explosion. In Parker's last seconds, he had shoved Amber out of the pathway of destruction, saving her life, but ending his own. Amber then told everything she knew about the Russian plans to the American government and turned herself in. She spent the rest of her life in prison pining over the only man she'd ever loved who no longer lived.

Like her life, it wasn't a fairytale.

"You're weird," Soul mused with his eyes still closed. His eyes were closed and his fingers twitched – Maka always assumed he was playing the piano in his mind. And he called her weird.

"Are you going home for Christmas?" She asked suddenly as she looked at her friend curiously. Last year he had given her a whiles notice to let her know he wouldn't be with her for the winter holiday, but they hadn't spoken about it yet. She just assumed Soul would be leaving this year as well.

"No," he replied with a wave of his hand. "Wes is on tour this year. He's in Japan right now."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Maka asked with wide eyes. "What are you planning on doing?"

"Dunno," Soul shrugged. "I was planning on sleeping and watching TV." He had never been the one for celebrating mindless holidays.

"Oh no you're not! You're coming over my papa's with me. I can give you your present on Christmas this year!" Maka exclaimed excitedly while her emerald eyes shined.

"Why would I spend a day – willingly – with your perverted father?" Soul questioned with a raised brow. He had tried his hardest in the past year to stay as far away from the overprotective parent as much as he could, though it was difficult.

"Because you're doing it for me!" Maka proclaimed, giving a small pout. "I would like to spend Christmas day with you. I'm cooking a ham with lots of extra goods…"

"Okay, okay, I'll go. But if your dad says anything stupid or perverted, I'm going to yell at him," Soul warned.

"You better rest your voice a bit, but deal!" Maka sighed, but a happy smile played with her lips. She glanced at the wall clock and noticed the time. "We'd better get ready for the dance. It's starting in an hour."

"We'll arrive a little late and my cool status will go up," Soul stated as he slowly stood up with his partner. "Even though that's almost impossible, considering I'm already so high up."

"Whatever you say, Soul," Maka rolled her eyes and walked over to her room, throwing him a look over her shoulder. "Don't take forever doing your hair!"

She shut the door before she could listen to his reply and walked over to her closet where the dress she had bought a week before hung. She ran her hand down it and smiled slightly, wondering if she would look pretty in it. She doubted it, but it would be nice to feel that way for once. She peeled off her white blouse and pulled down her red plaid skirt, glancing at herself in the mirror with a slight frown.

She had always been average. She had plain, boring dirty blonde hair that was neither long nor short. She wasn't tall, she was average height. Her face had no outstanding features other than her eyes which she got from her striking mother. She was lanky, with no revealing features. She was boring.

She slowly removed the small elastic ties that held her hair in her pigtails – the same style she had since before she could remember. Her hair swooped around her bare shoulders. She liked it down; it made her look a bit older than she actually was. With another small smile, she whirled around to grab her dress when suddenly, her bedroom door opened with a bang.

"Oi, Maka, do you have…my…" Soul slowed to a stop.

She froze and stared wide eyed at Soul, who was mirroring her expression. They stood still in silence for a few beats before she screamed and covered up every inch of her body that she could. She watched as a small trickle of blood ran from his nose to his upper lip and Soul stumbled back in shock.

"You idiot!" Maka exploded, running over to the door that he was refusing to shut. "You don't just barge in when a girl is changing! You knock and talk from the hallway! Where you taught nothing as a child? Get out! Get out! Get out!"

She slammed the door hard, not allowing Soul to defend himself. Her cheeks felt hot with a furious blush that was quickly spreading to the rest of her face. After over a year of living together, they had never had this happen before. Luckily she wasn't completely naked – she was still in her underwear and sports bra – so he didn't see too much, but by his reaction, it was probably enough. She was definitely going to be teased for her less than average body later, she knew it.

With a loud sigh, she locked the door and turned around, now certain that she could safely remove her bra. She slipped it off with ease and slid the dress over her body, shivering at the cool fabric clinging to her skin. She zipped up the back with ease and slipped on a pair of dress sandals. She picked up her comb that she kept by her bed and ran it through her hair, trying to figure out what to do with it. Eventually she decided on a happy medium with two small, even chunks tied with small pieces of black ribbon tied while the rest was down, resting on her shoulders.

She smiled at herself in the mirror in attempt to see what others would that night. Somewhat satisfied, she walked towards her door slowly, not wanting to face the awkward moment that would surely happen between the friends. With a breath of courage, she opened the door and stepped out with narrowed eyes, ready to yell at Soul some more.

Instead of a shameful Soul, she found Tsubaki sitting on the couch, her hair tied in her usual style, but her dress made it look elegant. She was smiling pleasantly and gave her friend a small wave.

"Soul and Black Star decided to go on before us. I assume something happened?" Her voice was innocent as if she didn't expect an answer.

"Nothing worth mentioning," Maka mumbled, wondering if Soul was telling Black Star everything he saw now. "We should go."

"You look so pretty, Maka-chan," Tsubaki gushed as she stood up and walked towards the front door.

Maka ducked her head and dismissed the compliment by brushing her hair behind her ears, only to have it fall back into place. She thanked her friend with a smile and walked out; she locked the door to the apartment she shared with an apparent pervert, and left for the dance.

When they arrived to the upper ballroom, Maka noted how the fairly large sized crowd seemed small in the huge room. She scanned the ballroom for any of her other friends and spotted Black Star first. He was clinging onto a tall black haired boy with three horizontal white stripes randomly placed in his hair that looked around her age. Black Star pulled on different limbs of the boy in wonderment.

"What has he gotten into now?" Tsubaki said out loud, making a bee line to her partner. Maka followed quickly out of curiosity.

A young girl with short blonde hair pointed and laughed manically as Black Star continued to tug on the black haired boy's left arm almost violently.

"Can you stop?" the boy asked in a bored tone. "It's not going to come off no matter how hard you pull it."

"Are you afraid of my god-like body?" Black Star challenged with a grunt. "I don't blame you. It's almost like I'm the God in this situation and not you!"

"That freak is funny, Kid-kun," the girl with short blonde hair laughed again as if the site in front of her was the most hilarious thing she'd ever seen.

"Don't be so loud, Patti," another, taller, girl chided. She looked as if she could be Patti's sister. "This guy is being loud enough for both of us."

"Black Star!" Tsubaki stormed up to her partner and grabbed his muscular arm almost harshly. "Get off him! Don't you see that you're annoying him?"

Black Star slumped off of the stranger's back, but his narrowed, determined eyes never disappeared. He eyed the boy with what looked like a twinge of envy, but it only lasted a moment.

The boy rolled his eyes and looked at Tsubaki thankfully. His golden eyes moved to Maka and widened, a smile finally cracking over his stone face.

"You are perfect!" he cooed, practically dancing around the confused girl. "I could draw a straight line directly in the center and you would look the same on both sides! You are so wonderful!"

"Thank you?" Maka stumbled. Not knowing what else to do, she gave a smile. "You're too kind."

"Look, Liz and Patti, even her smile is symmetrical!" the stranger continued with an even larger smile. "Beautiful! I'm Death the Kid, Shinigami's son. And who may I owe this pleasure to?"

"M-Maka. Maka Albarn. First star Shibusen student. Are you really Shinigami's son? I had no idea he had one!" Maka exclaimed excitedly.

"Would you care to dance with me, Maka Albarn?" Kid asked with a small bow. He reached out and straightened the hem of her dress, making her even more perfect.

She blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected to dance with anyone but Soul and he already knew what a horrible dancer she was. However, Soul was no where to be found, and Kid's compliments – no matter how strange they were – were flattering. She opened her mouth to accept, but someone stopped her.

"Her dance isn't as neat as her appearance," Soul's voice said from behind her lazily. "I'm her date, so I'll be dancing with her now. I'm sure there's something else you could be doing."

The older girl's eyes – who Maka now knew was Liz – grew twice their size as she motioned desperately for Soul to shut up. Her face was blue with wanting to shout, but biting her tongue. Her hands flailed behind Kid hard, but it was too late.

Kid's face slowly went from smug to horrified in seconds. His hands found his face and he rested them on his cheeks, steadying their shaking. He drew in a long breath and bowed in Maka's direction absent mindedly.

"I have to go check something."

In a whir, he was gone, nothing but a trail of dust and a long scream about his bathroom being asymmetrical. Liz glared at Soul before taking off after Kid, followed closely by Patti who continued to laugh madly. Maka blinked, not sure if what had just happened was apart of her imagination or not.

She felt Soul's hand clasp around her arm and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. A slow waltz was playing softly from the live band of talented jazz musicians. She sheepishly stared at her feet; her cheeks grew hot as she remembered what had happened thirty minutes before.

"So, about earlier…" Soul began as if he could read his technician's thoughts.

"Let's not talk about it," Maka half begged. She let Soul grab her hands, pulling one up and putting another on his shoulder. He snaked his free arm around her waist, drawing her in a bit closer. She shivered in remembrance of her dream. Suddenly she became angry and dug her fingernails into the skin of his hand that held hers and clenched her teeth. "You idiot."

"I thought you said not to talk about it!" Soul protested with a wince.

"The great thing about violence is that you can be totally silent while getting your point across," Maka snapped. She stumbled as Soul jerked her in a direction she wasn't expecting.

"Let me lead," he mumbled in concentration. "If you keep trying to take control we're going to lose our rhythm."

Hesitantly, Maka forced herself to be submissive to Soul's lead, giving him control over where she stood. It felt weird, but it was easier than she suspected. It seemed as if everyone around her froze and they were the only two people moving in the room. The tiny moment was a milestone in her life, even if Soul didn't realize it. For the first time, she willingly gave the rights to someone to lead her.

"Can I ask you something about last week?" Soul asked, breaking Maka out of her cloud of realization. His crimson eyes were intense and his mouth was in a straight line as he effortlessly maneuvered around the ballroom.

"I thought we already talked about everything that there was to be said," Maka replied a little coldly. She gave him a quick apologetic smile. "But ask away."

"You think I'm cute?" A wicked grin spread across his face, revealing his sharp teeth.

"I was wondering when you were going to bring that up," Maka said flatly as she rolled her green eyes. "You know what they say about eavesdroppers… You don't always hear what you want to."

"Who said I didn't want to hear it?" He mumbled absently. His gaze was anywhere but Maka for the first time, but they darted back to her quickly. It was as if he was avoiding someone.

Curious, she looked over her shoulder and saw a group of boys and girls whispering as their eyes were on the first-star weapon and technician. Where their eyes on them? It didn't seem likely, but when Maka glanced around, there was no one else in the certain corner of the dance floor.

"You're quite a popular guy," she mentioned. "You should probably dance with someone else before you break too many hearts."

"I'd rather just finish this dance with you and get that part over with," he joked as he shrugged. He kept guiding Maka almost gracefully across the smooth floor.

"Oh," Maka squeaked, noticing the color of his dress shirt that was underneath his fashionable pin striped suit. "We match. How did you know?"

"I like red," he replied passively. He eyed Maka and gave her a small smile. "You look pretty cool tonight."

"Thanks."

The danced the last minute in silence – the surrounding faces where just blurs in the side of their vision. Even though Maka stepped on Soul's feet a few times, they both felt at peace. The song melted into a faster paced one and they broke apart slowly, walking back over to where Tsubaki stood next to Black Star, who was violently devouring a turkey leg.

"I'm going to kick that guy's ass, and that's the day I'm going to surpass God!" Black Star shouted, spewing some specs of food from his mouth. Luckily, no one was in front of him, so they all dodged the unwanted missals.

"I'm sure you will," Tsubaki said with a cheerful smile.

"Maka! Tsubaki! You both look so pretty!" Kim's voice came from behind them as the pink haired technician bounded up to her friends.

"Thank you, Kim!" Tsubaki smiled. "You and Jackie look very pretty, too!"

"What does Ox-kun think?" Maka teased while elbowing Kim suggestively with a small laugh.

"He said that she was his shining angel!" Jackie exclaimed in mock adoration. "And then she promised a dance with him later."

Maka giggled while looking beyond her two friends and saw Ox with his trademark hairstyle that resembled devil horns. His circular glasses sat on the end of his nose as he watched lovingly as the girl who owned his heart talk to her friends. His partner Harvar just stood in a relaxed position as he looked lazily around the ballroom. The lights glinted off his retro style glasses Maka had always thought were strange, but interesting.

"What about Soul?" Kim teased as she stuck out her tongue. "What did he say about you?"

"He said I looked cool," Maka replied slowly. She turned towards her partner. "Why don't you ever call me something other than cool? I'm lucky if I even get that!"

"Why can't you just take my compliments as they are? I'm no super smart guy, or a Shinigami at that, but I'm a cool guy, so being cool is pretty… cool." Soul defended. His voice was a little louder than it needed to be.

"Quit it with the cool! It's all you ever say!" Maka shouted, bringing down her fist hard on her best friend's head, sending him to the ground. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her friends.

"Are you alright, Soul?" Tsubaki asked as she crouched down next to the crumpled boy.

"I'm used to it," he mumbled and pulled himself up. He watched his partner walk over with Kim and Jackie to where Ox was standing. Maka chatted politely with Harvar as Kim made a point of ignoring Ox. "She's been getting angry about the smallest things lately."

"She has been extremely stressed lately," Tsubaki noted with a small frown. "She hasn't been herself."

"She's so gloomy," Soul muttered, shoving his hands into the pockets of his suit's jacket. He didn't want to admit it, but seeing her that way was starting to make him feel pretty gloomy himself.

"Hey, that poor excuse for a god is back," Black Star shouted – he had been stuffing down food angrily the whole time. "It's time for me to shine!"

"Black Star," Tsubaki snapped, grabbing her partner by the collar of his too big suit jacket. "There will be no fighting tonight. Especially not with Shinigami-sama's son."

Black Star hunched in defeat and let out a sigh.

"Then I guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow."

Soul smiled and left the weapon and technician to argue a bit more to stand on the balcony to feel the chill of the night air. The moon laughed as the thick red liquid poured out of her menacing mouth and purple hued clouds drifted lazily over her face. Soul leaned against the edge of the balcony with closed eyes and listened to the smooth trumpet that was playing a soft melody which danced through the air.

He didn't know how long he had been alone outside until Maka arrived. Her cheeks were flushed and she was smiling with her hands clasped on a plate full of food. He eyed it and noticed she had gotten more than enough – probably something for him, too.

"Did you have fun dancing with the Shinigami's son?" Soul asked with a smirk as he looked onto the street far, far below them. A few people wandered around, holding hands, drenched in their blissful youthful romance. They looked liked ants. He could squish them easily.

"I've had better partners," she said coyly as she approached Soul, placing the plate down. "Don't you dare touch this. All of it is mine."

He looked pointedly at the second fork and raised his eyebrow. She stuck her tongue out and forked a Swedish meatball into her mouth chewing it with closed eyes. They stood in silence for a few beats before Soul helped himself to some food as well, noting how Maka didn't object. She pretended she didn't see.

"Maka-chan," a voice broke through the peace in a sing-song voice. "Papa wants a dance!"

Maka's face went from content to disgust in an instant. She turned and looked sharply at her father, her eyes on fire with anger.

"You lied to me!" she shouted, her fists tightening. "You told me you loved me the most, but I heard what you said to that woman!"

Soul blinked in confusion at the scene in front of him. He watched as the Death Scythe's face shifted from his normal silly expression to something serious. He started walking towards his daughter slowly, but recoiled when she backed behind Soul.

"Maka…" the older man said slowly. "It's not the way you see it."

"I hate you, Papa," Maka whispered. "You're no better than Mama."

With that, she grasped Soul's hand and pulled him around her father and out of the ballroom, leaving their friend's laughing faces. Her dress swayed with each of her fast paced steps and she rubbed her eyes in attempt to keep the angry tears from spilling out.

"Oi, Maka," Soul grunted, clasping his hand around her wrist and forcing her to stop. "What happened back there?"

"Like I've told you before," she whispered, looking at him from the corner of her eye, "Papa is a pig."

"You're going to need to be more specific than that."

"He told some woman that she was the most special female in his life." She bit her lip hard enough to wince at the pain before breaking out into a fake smile. "Though I guess I should be used to it by now. He's always lying to me. That's all anyone does."

"Lying isn't cool," Soul mumbled as he stuck his hands deep into his pockets and returned to his normal slouched posture. "Hey, let's go home. It's getting late."

"Yeah." Maka smiled and meant it somewhat. Despite her earlier complaints, Soul's simple words could always make her feel better about whatever situation. "I guess we can celebrate Christmas at our own apartment now! We don't need decorations to exchange presents."

"Presents?" Soul asked a little innocently. "I completely forgot."

Maka shoved her friend with a roll of her eyes. "I thought you said lying isn't cool."

"I never said teasing wasn't."

She giggled and followed her partner over to his motorcycle, happy to have a ride on the way home. She was feeling too tired, even if it was just a short walk away. She hopped on the back and enjoyed the wind as it messed up her hair she thought so hard about hours before. She smiled carelessly and rested her head on the small of Soul's back, feeling peace.

But, as Maka has witnessed so many times, all good things must come to an end.

When they arrived at the apartment, Soul opened the door and froze and his grip tightened around the keys. He held up his left arm, blocking Maka from entering. She tried to peer into the room, but could see nothing but a figure standing in the center of the room. In a flash, Soul's keys dropped and his right arm was replaced by his scythe blade.

"Who are you?" he growled harshly. "Why are you here?"

The figure emerged from the shadows and smiled a wicked smile. A large coat covered the woman's body, making it look bulkier than it obviously was. She had the presence of a wolf, Maka noted with wide, fearful eyes. Her sweeping blonde hair framed her face and fell far below her elbows, giving her an angelic look. Her green eyes glinted mischievously as they narrowed with determination.

"To see my daughter, of course. It is Christmas, after all."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater

**A/N:** Again, thanks so much for your reviews. They keep me happy about this story and inspired to write more!

Dun dun dunnnn, drama is among us, my friends. Sorry for the cliff hanger last time, I couldn't resist. I use them from time to time, just a heads up. A lot of things are going to happen in this chapter, so be ready to digest it all. I hope I don't move too fast for your tastes, but I like where it's going to take the story, and I think you will, too!

I've picked out a theme song, so to speak, for this story. If you're interested, look up the song 'Do The Things (You Want)' by Emery. It fits everything so perfectly.

* * *

Maka knew it. She _knew_ it was true. She knew she wasn't imagining things the week before, even if the sane part of her said to doubt it. Her mother stood before her looking just as he had four years ago.

But something was off.

Her green eyes that used to be so gentle now had a spark that almost made Maka fear. Her smile wasn't soft and motherly, but cold and wicked. Her hair was much, much longer than the short bob she had when Maka was ten. It seemed to have a pulse of its own as it slithered around her mother's wolf like face, trailing down her arms and back.

Absentmindedly, Maka stepped forward, only to bump into Soul who was still in a protective stance. He gripped the door frame tightly and blocked the path with his body. His right arm had turned back to normal, but his face was still fierce.

"Come on, Soul," Maka whispered. Her eyes never left the exotic beauty that was her mother. "Let me through."

"She's a stranger, you don't –!"

"She's my mother."

With a reluctant sigh, Soul released his grasp on the frame and allowed Maka to enter, but not before him. Mother or not, he didn't trust the woman. She had caused Maka so much pain, plus the way she looked… it was pure insanity.

"Ah," the woman said in a thick, almost hypnotizing voice. "You must be Maka's weapon. Or meister? I'm not sure which she is; it's been so long."

"I'm Soul's technician," Maka said softly, still in awe of the woman before her. "How did you know I was at Shibusen?"

"A witch's daughter who attends a witch hunting school? Word travels fast." Kami's smile faltered a bit and her voice dripped with disappointment. "I must say, I was surprised to hear it."

"I just wanted to be like you," Maka said in confusion. Why was her mother speaking to her like this? "I want to turn Soul into a Death Scythe just like you turned Papa into one!"

For the first time, Kami's face softened. It was almost as if she was someone else entirely. Her sharp eyes moved with adoration and her smile buffered the angles of her face. She took a small step forward towards her daughter and held her arms out, beckoning her in for a hug. Soul relaxed, sensing all danger ooze out of the room as the mother and daughter had their moment.

Of course she wasn't dangerous. How could someone evil make someone as good as Maka? It was utterly impossible. Soul knew from the little stories Maka sometimes told him about her mother that she wasn't bad – the way she described her mother made it seem like she was a picture perfect person. Deciding that everything was safe, he slipped into his bedroom and gave the mother and daughter some much needed alone time.

Maka entered her mother's arms without a thought, breathing in the familiar vanilla scent that always surrounded her. She buried her head in Kami's long hair and sighed contently – she felt like she was nine years old again and everything was okay. As her mother's arms tightened around her, Maka felt as if she had never been left. Her heart felt whole again.

The moment was fleeting.

Kami froze up as if some sort of switch had been flipped and her arms fell almost lifelessly to her sides. Her posture stiffened, causing Maka to feel uncomfortable and let her go. She dropped her arms from around her mother and looked up curiously. Kami's face had retuned to its sharpness, removing every bit of warmth in her eyes.

"Shibusen is not your calling, Maka," Kami said in attempt to sound as welcoming as she looked moments before. "You were always destined to be with me. We could be fearsome."

Maka wasn't sure if her eyes were tricking her, but she thought she saw her mother's eyes flash with a radioactive purple. She blinked in surprise – what had happened to the loving woman that raised her for ten years? Soul was right; the person standing in front of her was a stranger. It was obvious that the four years were not kind to Kami's sanity.

"I belong at Shibusen, Mama. I don't want to be anywhere else." It was true. Though she was different in extreme amounts from her friends, Maka was finally feeling as she belonged somewhere.

"You think that because you're not aware of what you're capable of," Kami explained as she took step back from her daughter. "You're a strong witch, even only as half of one. If you practice, you could be as great as…"

She trailed off in a business like tone and frowned as if she was arguing with herself internally. The two were silent – Maka was on the verge of tears from being so overwhelmed with joy, sadness, and confusion while Kami raged a war inside of her head. So many unspoken questions bounced around Maka's head endlessly. It was almost too much.

Her mother, who had been missing for four years without any contact, had suddenly appeared asking her to drop Shibusen and become a witch? It was too bizarre. She briefly wondered if she had never woken up and everything was just a dream. Her dance with Soul, meeting the Shinigami's son, fighting with her father, and now this... Some parts she wished to be a dream, and others she wanted to stay real.

"I made a promise to Shinigami-sama last year. I made a promise to myself. I promised that I wouldn't use magic unless I had special permission, and I plan on keeping it. I missed you, Mama. I missed you so much. You left me alone when I wanted you the most, so I decided my own path." Maka was crying now. "Why did you leave me? If you wanted me to be a witch then why didn't you take me with you? I would have gone with you, Mama! You wouldn't have to be asking me to break my promise because I'd already be with you!"

Kami's bowed head raised. Her green eyes were wide in surprise. Her wicked smile had disappeared once more and now her mouth formed a small 'o'. She blinked, trying to take it all in. With a sigh, she ran her hand though her long, flowing hair.

"I was trying to protect you, my puppy. I was trying to… be the best mother I could." Her voice was sad, which only caused Maka's hot tears to run faster. Why did everything have to be so difficult? "Now I see that I'm too late."

"Protect me from what? We were happy!" Maka shouted angrily. "Everything was so good and you ruined it!"

"It doesn't matter what I was protecting you from. I am your mother and I know what's best! Please forgive me, Maka. You'll find out soon enough about everything and I just want you to be safe!" In an instant, Kami engulfed her daughter in a hug so tight Maka could barely breathe, but she didn't dare complain. In the back of her mind, she noted how strange her mother was acting – cold and distant one moment, warm and like her old self the next – but she was too grateful to question anything the woman did.

The mother and daughter clung to each other – both in tears – for a little while longer. When they broke apart, Kami's face was distorted in pain again; the internal war had began to rage once more.

"I have to go," she whispered.

"What? Why? It's too soon – you can't! When will I see you again?" Maka exclaimed in a panic.

"Hopefully never," Kami said sadly, before adding, "So long as you're loyal to Shibusen."

"What are you planning?" Maka asked curiously as she wiped away the tears that stained her face. She was growing more confused by each word her mother said.

"It shouldn't concern you," Kami replied with a frown. "I told you I would protect you."

"I don't want your protection!" Maka yelled, grabbing her mother's hands. "I just want you, Mama!"

"Enough!" Kami's voice was hard again and her stone wall atmosphere was back. Her hands went rigid, along with the rest of her body, and she swatted her daughter's hands away. "I have something to give you."

She reached into a bag on the floor and pulled out a large, old book. It reminded Maka of the books old murder mysteries were written in – the kind you had to brush the layer of dust off before reading. It looked important. It looked scary.

"W-what is it?" Maka stuttered, her eyes wide and hesitant.

"A present. From Mama to her puppy." The wicked smile that chilled Maka to her core appeared on the woman's face again and her voice was almost mocking. It was almost as if the moments before didn't happen at all.

Maka took the book slowly, noting how light it actually was despite how heavy it looked. On the cover there was the word _potestas_. Maka wasn't sure what it meant; she would have to ask Sid-sensei… Or perhaps it was safer to ask Shinigami himself. She took a sudden deep breath and suppressed a groan. What was she going to tell Shinigami-sama about her mother? What about her father? Surely she had to tell someone…

"I would like if you kept this visit under wraps, but I have a feeling Shibusen will know of my presence by sunrise, won't they?" Kami snapped as if she could read Maka's mind."You're such a shame. There is so much power that you're so unaware of in that soul you keep hidden so often. It's a waste, really."

"I-I won't tell anyone, Mama," Maka whispered. "What do you mean by power? My witch power?"

"That is something you'll have to discover yourself, Maka. Good-bye." Kami picked up her blue bag and left in a blink before Maka could say anything in return.

For the first time in four years, Maka felt her heart break. This time she had watched her mother leave. The whole thing left a sour taste in her mouth and she wanted to puke. Her knees felt weak, so she let them bring her to the ground in a heap. The book was still clutched in tightly in her hands. Her vision blurred with tears.

She was weak.

She didn't notice that there was a hand on her shoulder until Soul came into her line of blurry vision. His face was solemn as he helped his friend stand up. He tried to make her walk, but her feet wouldn't budge from where they were planted. Maka's dress that she loved so much was now wrinkled and tear stained… It was a sad sight.

Giving up, he picked up the technician and carried her bridal style to her room and sat her gently on the bed. He pried the antique book from her hands and sat it on the table without a word to her. She had sunk into depression after what had happened with her mother – he didn't know what, but it didn't look good – and he decided to give her space.

Truthfully, he was dying to know what the pathetic witch had said to her. He was tempted to listen in, but he thought that would have been an invasion of privacy – which he had already done a little too much already – so he decided it would be best to listen to music and have Maka fill him in later. He didn't expect to find his partner on the ground in tears. Anger welled up inside of him and he clenched his teeth.

He gripped Maka's hand tightly and gave it a small squeeze, hoping it would comfort her. Her eyes fell on his face and she gave him a watery smile – the film the covered them now removed.

"Sorry you have to see me like this," she apologized. "I hate when you see me cry."

"It can't be helped," Soul replied flatly. He tried to give a smile in return, but he was too angry to do anything. "You should get some rest."

"Yeah," Maka nodded slowly. She turned her back to Soul and stared at her wall until she heard him shuffle out. He shut the door behind him with a soft click, and then Maka was alone.

She felt another fit of tears bubbling up, but she quickly swallowed them, refusing to cry even if she was alone. She needed to be strong for herself as well as Soul. They were partners – if she was not trying her hardest, then Soul would be drug down with her. No matter what happens, she didn't have time to dwell on things that can't be changed.

She stared at the wall for what seemed like hours. After glancing at the clock, she saw that it had been. She squeezed her eyes shut in attempt to go to sleep, but it was useless. Though her body was tired, her mind was running a race of its own, not allowing her the peace for slumber. With a sigh, she sat up in her bed and leaned on the window sill, looking out of the glance and onto the smiling moon.

"Sometimes I feel so alone," she whispered to the face in the sky. "Nothing seems worth anything anymore."

Her words didn't match what she was thinking, but it felt nice to say them out loud. She pulled her knees to her chest and pressed her forehead against them with another sigh. She was so tired, but sleep seemed out of the question at that point. She stayed in that position for a while before giving up and padding to the living room, careful not to wake Soul.

She walked silently over to the cream couch and sat down, picking up the remote. She flipped the television on and clicked the volume button down furiously, not knowing what level it was at when it was turned off earlier. When the sound was all the way down, she pressed up a few times so that the voices were nothing more than low murmurs.

She watched mindlessly as a sitcom family got themselves into different problems – all of them living in a different world – and each working their way slowly out of it. In the end, their problems brought them all closer together with a few dramatic moments and comedic timings. She wasn't paying attention to the show at all, but she knew the story. They were all the same.

The shows blended together, but they passed the time. Finally her eyelids began to feel heavy. As they were drooping closed, an action show came on, showing its usual destruction. She fell over onto the couch and kept her eyes glued to the screen – some deaths, even fictional ones, might help release some of her passive aggression. After a few moments, she noticed how the scenery of the show seemed too familiar… The actress that played the anchorwoman looked just like Death City's…

In a flash, Maka flew up and her wide eyes watched the screen in horror as she realized that it wasn't one of the late night action shows, but the early morning news. The camera man was running, but was focused on what was happening – so it was hard to make out the details as to what was happening, but she saw more than enough to understand. Death City was undergoing an attack.

Granted, it was a small attack compared to what the city had faced before, but it was an ambush nonetheless and people were getting hurt. Two witches – one with long gray hair and a frog like bounce in her moves, and another short one with pink hair and her face covered with her outfit – soared around a select area, destroying everything in their path. At one pint, the frog like witch grabbed the camera and smiled into it, her purple eyes gleaming.

"Maka-chan," the witch sang happily. "We would like to meet you tomorrow in Carson City!"

Maka's heart stopped. What was the meaning of this? Who were these two and why did one of them seem so familiar with her? More importantly, why were the fearless enough to do a direct attack on Death City? She clenched her fists tightly around the hem of her dress and continued to stare frightfully at the television screen, ready for something to burst out at any given moment.

The screen changed to the anchor woman with a serious face again. She began talking about how the attack had taken place around eleven o' clock at night, just when Maka's mother had come to visit. Was she trying to distract her? Did she have something to do with this?

She jumped up suddenly and ran into her room, stumbling over to her mirror. She breathed heavily on it so that her breath formed condensation, and with shaking hands, quickly scrawled in the numbers 42-42-564. The mirror flashed a bright light for a few seconds, before fading, giving Maka a good view of the Death Room. She hadn't been in it since her arrival at Shibusen, but it looked exactly the same.

Shinigami's cartoon like skull face popped up suddenly into the mirror vision. Maka jumped in surprised slightly, but controlled her self with ease. It wasn't a time to freak out about being startled.

"Maka-chan!" his childish voice sang. "It has been so long! You're looking very cute! What makes you call here so early in the morning?"

"W-what? You mean you haven't seen what is happening in Death City? Why don't you pay attention more?" Maka shouted while her eyes were wide with panic. "Two witches are –"

"Yes, I am fully aware! I was just trying to start a conversation, that's all! No one wants a rude Shinigami!" the death god sang out happily. It sickened Maka.

"This isn't a time for a conversation, Shinigami-sama! I need to know what to do. Those witches called for me. Do I find them? Give me orders!" Maka clung tightly to the mirror on both sides, giving it a shake. She felt as if she was having a meltdown, but her outer appearance looked perfectly fine. Her mind buzzed with fear – was this excitement, too?

"You are still only a one star student, and you've only collected twelve souls, of course excluding the one we confiscated at the beginning of your first semester. Normally I would say no, but I think you can handle it!"

Maka was floored. She didn't know it would be so simple. Part of her wanted to scream about what an idiot Shinigami-sama was for allowing her to go about and do what she pleased, but another part itched in anticipation of what could happen – the more dominate part. She was scaring herself, but she pushed her fear to the side and smiled.

"However, I would feel better if you took someone with you. Say, my son? He told me he met you!" Shinigami continued happily. "He is so cute!"

"Shinigami-sama, there's something I have to tell you," Maka said quickly, ignoring his statement. She wanted to say it before she changed her mind. "It's about my mother."

"Ah, yes, I was wondering if you were going to tell me."

Maka was floored once more. Why was he acting so nonchalant about it? How did he know before she told him? If he knew, then why did Kami ask Maka to keep her presence a secret? People were lying and hiding the truth from her all the time… She was growing tired of it. But she had to make due.

"How… did you know?" Maka whispered. "Did Soul tell you?"

Shinigami nodded slowly. "He was worried about you, Maka-chan. You must keep that in mind. I believe this attack is directly related to your mother, so please keep that in mind as well."

"Yes," Maka mumbled with a bowed head. She stared at her shoes for a moment in order to regain her composure. She looked back up at her mirror which reflected the death god, who was awaiting a more specific reply. "Yes, Shinigami-sama! I will be ready for the next time there is an attack, and they will not return!"

"Excellent!" He sang out, giving a wave with his big hands. "I hold high expectations for you, Maka-chan!"

With that, the mirror blinked, and nothing was there but a boring girl who looked like Cinderella after midnight. She felt like it, too. The night was going so nicely – she was having fun with her friends, and was even called beautiful for the first time by someone other than her father – but it went down the drain so fast, she could barely keep up with the flow.

"Oi, Maka," a knock sounded at the door. It was Soul. "What are you yelling about so early in the morning? Is everything okay?"

Slowly, she made her way to the door and opened it, looking at her partner with dead, determined eyes. He was taken aback momentarily, but his mouth formed a sharp smile that would scare anyone off. His red eyes flashed with something Maka couldn't read, but it made her smile as well. She didn't even have to tell him what she had just gotten them into for him to already agree to it.

"Are you ready to kill a few witches?" She asked. "There have been attacks in Death City that, as Shibusen students, we just can't allow to happen."

"Hm," he mused quietly, shoving his hands deep into his pant pockets. "I guess that sounds pretty fun."

"Do you mean cool?"

"Yeah, Maka. Definitely cool."

* * *

"Merry Christmas, Soul! Merry Christmas, Maka!" Tsubaki said cheerfully as she stepped into their apartment. "You haven't opened presents yet, have you? I wanted to do it all together!"

"We waited," Maka replied cheerfully, but it was obviously forced. She was tired from only snatching two hours of sleep after she explained everything to Soul. He had napped some as well – Maka suspected he didn't sleep much during the nights.

"I want to open presents right now!" Black Star shouted as he bounded in the room in a fit. "I've been waiting all day! I usually open all of my gifts on Christmas Eve, but Tsubaki only let me open one!"

"I told you this was a day for our only family!" Tsubaki shouted in annoyance. She was usually calm and patient with Black Star, but people can only last but so long. He had obviously been bugging her all day about his presents. "Since this is Maka and Soul's house, we will do what they say."

"Yes, ma'am," he stumbled, with his eyes as wide as Maka's. He wasn't used to Tsubaki being so harsh, no matter how many times she had used that tone with him.

"I had a lot of food planned, but something happened. So I only fixed half of the food you were promised," Maka admitted with a small, apologetic smile. "But I think it should be enough."

Tsubaki studied her friend for a few beats and smiled. Even though she knew something was bothering Maka, she decided not to ask. If Maka truly wanted to tell her, then she would do so on her own. She was always the one to give friends space.

"I brought a few things over myself," Tsubaki assured. "Black Star said I went a little overboard, but I think we'll have the perfect amount of food now!"

"That helps a lot, thank you Tsubaki-chan!" Maka smiled a little brighter, but there was still something off. Even Black Star noticed.

"Be happier, Maka-baka! It's Christmas – you get presents from all of your friends!" he shouted. "You've already gotten the best present yet, though. It's going to be tough to beat it!"

"The best present?" Maka asked curiously, ignoring the fact that he called her the hated childhood nickname. "What is that?"

"Me!" he proclaimed happily, thrusting his thumb towards his chest. "I am the best gift this world has ever seen!"

"You better have gotten me something besides your attitude," Maka stated bluntly, but giving her childhood friend a quick smirk. It was all he needed to know that she would be okay.

"Oi, when can we eat? I'm starving," Soul complained as he slumped against the wall. Maka had cut his food supply down in attempt to get him to save room for all the food she was making now. She seemed to have forgotten who he was and how bottomless his stomach was. He could always eat, especially when Maka and Tsubaki were involved in making the food.

"Soon, we just have to…" Maka trailed off, her bright green eyes filming over and dulling suddenly. She stared blankly at her partner – it looked as if she was looking right through him – and a slow smile spread across her face. It looked just like the one Kami had given him when he first saw her.

Soul rarely got scared, but in that moment, he was. Not for himself, but for Maka.

"Maka, what's wrong?" Soul demanded, walking over to his partner quickly. He grabbed her shoulders and attempted to give her a shake, but she didn't budge. Her eyes still stayed in the same spot.

Suddenly, Soul's feet lifted off the ground and he was now hovering over his partner. The only thing anchoring him was his hands on her shoulders. What was going on? His mind was racing. It had to be Maka doing this, but why?

Maka's eyes clicked and suddenly, she was aware of her surroundings. Just as soon as Soul had been lifted, he bounded to the ground in a heap. He looked up at his partner through narrowed eyes. Had she just done magic?

"W-what happened?" Maka asked faintly as she stumbled. Her head was spinning and her knees refused to stabilize. A sharp pain shot through her skull and she clutched her head in attempt to stop it. She saw Tsubaki grab her elbow, and she heard Soul call out for her, but it was like everything was under water. She shook her head in attempt to wake up a bit. It worked, but it took a few moments for everything to clear.

"That was freaky!" Black Star yelled excitedly as he bounced around his friends. "Do it again, Maka! And this time, throw him across the room!"

"I'm going to throw you across the room if you don't be quiet," Soul yelled with a shake of his fist. "Can't you see that this is serious?"

"Hell yeah I can! It's seriously awesome! Did you see that, Tsubaki? Maka made Soul fly by doing nothing! Is this my present, because if so, I'm going to need to return what I got you because this is so much more –"

Black Star was suddenly cut short by Maka bringing a nearby book hard down in the center of his skull. He was floored almost instantly – despite being much stronger than her, he was no match for her infamous Maka Chops.

He peered at his three friends from the store and saw that their faces were solemn – or at least Soul's and Maka's were. Tsubaki was just confused and worried. He remembered that she didn't know that Maka was a witch, so seeing her do powers randomly was strange. Actually, it was strange for him, too. His eyes widened in realization that Soul was right, this was serious.

"Are you alright, Soul?" Maka asked with wide eyes. She looked terrified.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's you who I'm worried about," he replied honestly. "What happened just now?"

"I-I don't know," Maka admitted. "I was telling Black Star when we could start eating and then… I was looking at you on the ground."

Soul felt wholly relieved that she didn't remember using magic for a moment. He smiled to himself, but he felt it fade. If Maka wasn't conscious what else would she be capable of without her sanity grounding her? She didn't have any mental restrictions that way… He didn't let it show, but he was a little scared.

"I feel as if there is something you haven't told me," Tsubaki whispered. Her bottom lip trembled slightly with a mixture of hurt and worry.

Maka's eyes widened as she turned towards her friend. She felt like she was ten years old again and standing in front of Black Star after he caught her doing magic, except this time she didn't remember what she did. Did she hurt anyone? Did she hurt herself? She was terrified of herself already, and now that she lost control, she wanted to hole up inside of her room and stay there.

"I understand if you don't want to tell me!" Tsubaki quickly covered with a wave of her hands. She gave a soft smile that she hoped didn't look sad. "I just want you to know that you can tell me anything, Maka."

"No." Maka's voice was hard. She looked at her feet and her fists clenched n determination. She paused for a moment before looking at the beautiful weapon square in the eye. "I'll tell you."

Soul looked at his technician with a blank face before flashing a wide, sharp smile. Maka was bold. Something he should expect out of his partner.

Before Tsubaki could convince her otherwise, Maka spewed out everything. About how her mother was a witch, about how she was deserted at the age of ten to live with her father, about how she had to fight the sway of magic daily – though, up until now, it had been really easy – and about how she felt strongly about stopping evil at all costs because of who she was. Tsubaki, as expected, completely understood and didn't judge her friend.

"Thank you for telling me," Tsubaki said as she gripped her friend's hand comfortingly. "Now I can help you through this, too."

For the first time in a long time, Maka didn't feel alone. She was so stupid to ever think she was lonely in this matter when she was surrounded by friends. She had a partner that was up for anything – despite his lazy personality – and two best friends that were always there to cheer her up; Black Star, who was always available for a laugh, and Tsubaki, who was always there in order to be a listening ear. No matter how low she felt, Maka wasn't alone in this.

"There's something else," Maka continued. She looked at Soul who was giving her a look that asked if she really wanted to tell them. She nodded. "Last night, my mother was here."

"What?" Black Star shouted, immediately growing angry. His fists tightened and his eyes narrowed dangerously – he had never felt so negatively towards someone he'd only met a few times before. "What does that old witch want with you?"

"I'm not sure, honestly… She kept saying that I was potential of having a lot of power, but she wasn't being specific. She asked me to leave Shibusen and follow her." Maka said quietly, knowing how much her words were upsetting Black Star and Soul by their reactions.

"She asked you to leave Shibusen?" They both shouted at once. If emotions had a physical appearance outside of expressions, Black Star and Soul would both be on fire.

"I said no obviously!" Maka shouted in reply in attempt to calm the two down before they broke something in their rage. It was strange seeing those two getting so worked up about something involving her. Especially Soul. He usually played off his relationship with Maka as shallow and depth-less, showing little to no emotion except for on rare occasions. At first, Maka thought it was because he didn't like her, but then she learned it was just his way of being… well, Soul.

"How could she leave you and then think its okay to show up and ask you something like that? Who the hell does she think she is?" Black Star steamed under his breath. His jaw was clenched as his green eyes searched his childhood friend's face carefully – it really looked like she didn't regret her decision.

"I don't know," she admitted before hardening her face. "But that doesn't matter now."

"You're right! It's Christmas!" Tsubaki said cheerfully. "We can talk more over our meal."

"Yeah," Maka said with a grateful smile. "Let's eat."

"And then presents!" Black Star shouted happily, a complete turn around from his attitude before. He gave Maka a pat on the back, sending her stumbling a few feet in front of them. She caught herself quickly and turned to him with an angry face.

"Idiot! What was that for? You've got to be careful!"

Soul smirked at the two fighting childhood friends and scuffed over to the nearly floor level table, plopping down on the maroon pillows. He stretched lazily and mulled over the conversation that just happened. He was worried about Maka – that was a given – but he trusted her. However, there was a tiny part of him that still feared Maka would someday leave him to join her mother, and that tiny part also feared that he would some day have to end her life himself.

His eyes widened at the thought and a chill ran down his spine. Was he really so stupid? It wasn't cool to think about the possibility of having to kill your best friend and partner. He promised himself that he would never resort to that, no matter how out of control things got. Realizing that his train of thought was just pissing him off, he decided to cut off his thinking like he usually did when Maka lectured him. He smiled lazily at the feeling.

Once the table had plates filled with food on it, the four friends began chattering about their recent missions. Black Star had yet to get one soul for Tsubaki, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Black Star moves at his own pace," she said with a fond smile. "As his weapon, I have to follow his lead or we will fail."

"I'm going to turn Tsubaki into a Death Scythe!" Black Star proclaimed with confidence. "Even if it takes me the rest of her mortal life!"

"L-let's not take it that far," Tsubaki said, waving her hands to signal her partner to stop talking. He took the hint and shoveled more than a mouth full of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"Soul and I have been doing really well – we've gotten all twelve souls that we've gone after. I hope we keep up the streak!" Maka said happily. "Once we hit ninety-nine, all we need is a witch's soul which will be easy! Now that we have our first star we can grab missions whenever we'd like."

"We should be getting our first star next month," Tsubaki said as she swallowed her food. "I'm forcing Black Star to study every night for his exam so that he can pass it!"

"As a future god, it is an insult to have to pass an exam to get one measly star when I will own them all in the future!" Black Star shouted, jumping up and slamming one foot up on the table. He stuck his index to the sky as if he was pointing out his goals in life. "I failed it the first two times to prove my point, that's all!"

"Don't be rude! Get your feet off the table! We're trying to have dinner!" Maka shouted angrily as she thrashed her clenched fist in the air. She paused for a second, her eyes growing wide, and then let out a loud hiccup.

In an instant, Black Star flew across the room with so much force that the surrounding pictures fell from their place on the wall and landed onto the floor with a clatter. A nice Black Star sized hole was now outlined into the white wall while the actual Black Star lay in a shocked heap on the ground.

Maka's hands flew over her mouth with a gasp. She had felt the power surge up from her and echo out with ease. What was happening to her? Why was she involuntarily doing magic? Nothing was making sense, and now she might have hurt her best friend since childhood.

"Whoa," Black Star mumbled as he slowly stood up. He looked excitedly at Maka and smiled brightly. "Do it again; that was so awesome! This time send me through the wall! Can you teach me how to do that?"

"Idiot!" Maka shouted when she realized that she hadn't hurt him. "This isn't funny! I don't know what's happening to me!"

"Whatever it is, it's amazing! Come on, Maka; try to send me through the wall without touching me! You know you want to!"

"Of course I want to, but I'm not going to! I'm using magic, Black Star; I'm not supposed to do that!"

"Who cares? Breaking rules is what life is all about. At least you're doing something cool!"

"Shut up!"

Soul and Tsubaki exchanged eye rolls as the two long time friends continue to argue. Black Star was set on making Maka send him right through the wall while Maka was set on convincing her magic spasms were bad things. After a while, Maka's face was completely red and she huffed angrily, grabbing the nearest book.

"You've left me with no choice, Black Star! Maka Ch–"

Before she could finish, the mirror that used to be beside the door – it now was on the floor courtesy of Maka's magic mishap and Black Star's large body – began to shine. They were receiving a call from the Death Room.

Maka dropped the book she was handling immediately and rushed over to the mirror. She picked it up and held it in front of her and tapped the glass three times, answering the unusual call.

"Ah, there you are, Maka-chan!" the Shinigami's childish voice sang. "You should really pay attention to your other mirrors – this is the third time I had to call you!"

"Sorry, Shinigami-sama," Maka apologized as she clenched the mirror tighter. "What is the reason you're calling for?"

"The attackers have just struck again, and this time they're getting a little bit more destructive. A few people have already been injured and they're still going. I sent my son out already, and now it's your turn to go." His voice got somewhat serious. "They're in Death City Square. Please be careful, Maka-chan. This is dangerous!"

"I understand. Thank you, Shinigami-sama. I promise I'll be careful."

"I know I could depend on you! Bye-bye!" the death god sang, giving a wave and hanging up the line.

The room was silent as Maka continued to stare into the mirror. Nervousness welled up inside of her – was she strong enough to take on two witches? Did she overestimate the situation? Doubts filled her mind until Soul came into view behind her left shoulder. He was smiling his signature sharp smile.

"Chickening out?" he teased, leaning in so that his face was next to hers.

She looked at him slyly from the corner of her eye and smiled with determination.

"Not a chance."

"What's going on here?" Black Star demanded as he looked from Maka to Soul rapidly. "What was that call all about?"

"It's a mission that suddenly came up," Maka explained as she rushed to grab her things she needed. She put on her gloves quickly – Soul had gotten them for her last Christmas because she complained about how he sometimes gave her blisters during a hard fight. They really did help. "Sorry about having to ruin Christmas dinner, but we can't ignore this. Go ahead and open your presents, Black Star!"

With that, Soul and Maka ran out of the apartment, leaving a very confused Tsubaki and a very annoyed Black Star.

"Why do they get all of the fun?" he half pouted.

"I hope that they'll be okay… Shinigami-sama sounded a little strange, didn't he?" Tsubaki asked with a frown.

"He always sounds like that," Black Star replied passively with a wave of his hand. "They'll be fine – this is Maka and Soul we're talking about. The best technician in class – only next to me, of course – and the coolest weapon can't be beat."

Though he meant his words, it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince Tsubaki. With a shrug, he turned to the small pile of presents and rubbed his hands together.

"If they do die, how bad would you feel if we ignored Maka's last request? Let's open presents now!"

* * *

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Maka?" Soul asked as the two Shibusen students bounded towards the door of the nice apartment building. The manager gave the kids a wave – he had grown used to sights like this.

"We really don't have much of a choice now," Maka replied as she caught herself mid stumble as they exited the complex. Her body felt as if it was on fire in anticipation. "Where did you part the motorcycle?"

"In the same place I always do," Soul blinked as he slowed to a stop next to his orange motorized bike. He grabbed his partner's hands tightly in his and gave her a small shake. "You think better when you're calm, so let's try to be that way, yeah?"

In her mind, Maka was screaming insults. What kind of idiot would suggest that? How could she stay calm when there was nothing calming about their situation? She wished she was strong like Soul so she could see things his way, but she wasn't. The two witches couldn't have come at a worse time. It was almost as if they knew everything that happened – and was happening – to Maka. It was almost as if…

No.

She refused to think that.

Instead of voicing her thoughts, she just nodded and jumped on the back of the wide motorcycle, motioning for Soul to follow suit. He hopped on, sitting in front of Maka, and started the bike with a rumble. She wrapped her arms around his lower torso and clung tightly for leverage so that she didn't go flying with the weapon's less than perfect driving.

"What are you doing?" She shouted as she watched the street they needed to take whiz by. "You just missed the turn!"

"No I didn't," Soul snapped. He really hated when she did this. "I'm taking a short cut."

"What do you mean short cut? That's the only nearby way to get to Main—"

Suddenly, they were flying down a set of stairs. Maka screamed and clutched Soul tighter as he recklessly drove, completely oblivious to the pedestrians surrounding him. Maka tried yelling sense into him, but nothing was working. His sharp teeth grew in size as his smile increased with each jolt of the axis as the bike hit the uneven levels of the stairs violently.

Maka squeezed her eyes shut and prayed to the unknown god that she would live this disaster long enough to at least meet the witches who called for her.

Finally, the two reached the bottom with a bang. Everything was still for a moment, but soon Soul and Maka fell over, sliding off the bike. Maka braced herself, but she landed on something soft instead of the hard ground. She twitched – she was so angry at Soul for putting her through that she couldn't even form words.

"E-eh? My bike! What did you do?" Soul shouted as he pulled at his white hair.

Maka opened her eyes in confusion and looked at the orange motorcycle that lay on its side on top of a large mattress. Where had it come from? Her eyes drifted down the body of the vehicle and noticed that its wheels were now gone, just leaving two small twirling pieces of scrap metal that used it be the wheel's axis.

"I-I don't know," Maka stumbled with wide eyes. "I guess I got scared and…"

"Whatever, I'll yell at you later. We've… got more important things to do." It took Soul everything he had to say that, but he had to set his priorities. Right now, his bike was second. A very, very close second, but it still wasn't first.

"Right," Maka nodded as she jumped up. She looked around at her surroundings and blinked. They were right in the center of Death City Square. Or, where it used to be, at least.

There was a thick black fog that blanketed the ground, hiding the street below their feet. Maka glanced down curiously and found that she couldn't see past her ankles. There were sparks of energy around her, but she couldn't find the origin. The entire square was completely empty except for the buildings and occasional broken bench.

"Soul," she commanded, holding out her hand.

It was all Soul needed to hear in order to give a nod and transform into his scythe form. Maka gripped him hard as she slowly scanned her surroundings, preparing herself for anything.

After a few beats, nothing happened, so she slowly took a step forward, wondering if she would step on something dangerous. When the first step succeeded safely, she took another. Soon she was comfortable enough to walk at a faster pace; she decided that if something was below the fog, she would have stumbled across it by then.

Just as she felt confident enough to run, a large explosion happened before her. It was bright eerily purple – she had to squint and brace herself in order to stand her ground. A few shards of debris hit her, but it was nothing worth doing more than wincing over. Where was Shinigami's son?

As if on cue, the lanky boy clad in all black burst from the explosion, wielding twin pistols in both hands. His hair was slightly messy and there were a few scratches on him, but he was smiling.

"Nice to see you could join the fun," he said dryly, firing off two shots in the direction of where the explosion was now calming down in. "Liz, Patty, add twenty-five percent more power!"

"Yes sir!" the guns shouted. They shined red for a moment before returning to normal – Maka couldn't notice a difference until they were fired once more, their bullet type energies now a little larger then what they were before. She glanced at Soul curiously – was it possible to do that with a scythe? She shook her head. This was no time to think of stupid power ups.

"Maka-chan!" a somewhat familiar voice cried. The speaker was trying to sound cheerful, but it was obvious that she wasn't sure of herself. A figure emerged from the smoke and smiled. She was young looking – probably a few years older than Soul – and had the appearance of a frog. Her orange hat seemingly winked tauntingly at Maka as it sat on top of its owner's flowing grey hair. There were two circular birth marks resting on each end of the girl's lips, matching her polka dotted dress.

Maka blinked a few times in surprise. This witch didn't seem at all as intimidating as she did on television…

"Don't talk to me so intimately!" Maka snapped, readying Soul for a strike. "As a student of Shibusen, I can't tolerate your arrogance. What makes you think that you can barge in Death City and attack its people?"

"Oh! Where are my manners? I am Eruka – you can call me Eurka-chan if you'd like! We might just become friends." Eruka's smile faltered for a moment. It was almost as if she was remembering lines to a script. "Thank you for sending me this warm up, Maka-chan," the young witch continued with a little more confidence. She held out her palm which held a tadpole shaped purple ball of energy and blasted it in the direction of Death the Kid.

Maka watched with wide eyes as the young death god was thrown back violently – Eurka obviously hadn't been using all of her strength on him before so he had underestimated her. Kid's two weapons immediately turned back into humans involuntarily. There were multiple wounds on both of them, none serious, but enough to shake them up. It was nearly impossible to damage the actual weapon – especially the human inside – how had Eruka managed it?

"Kid-kun!" Liz shouted as she threw herself towards her technician. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Liz," Kid replied as he sat up with a smile. He held out his hands and signaled or the two girls to turn back into their weapon form. With a laugh, Patty obliged, followed closely by her sister. "It's going to take far more than that to make a Shinigami back off."

Eruka's eyes widened – it was obvious that she hadn't been aware that Kid was a death god. She froze, not knowing what she should do next. It was now clear as ever to Maka that Eruka was just a pawn in someone else's game, and not a good one at that.

"Here's our chance, Maka," Soul shouted, his image appearing in the blade of the scythe. "She doesn't have it together."

"Right," Maka agreed as she reared the weapon back. She bent her knees and prepared to jump, angling her body so she would soar right to her target.

She pushed off the ground and flew through the air, drawing closer to Eruka. She yelled in anticipation, building up her energy. A smile spread across Maka's lips – she had this. Eruka's soul was hers.

Suddenly, an object got in Maka's path, causing her to twist her body and crash into a side of a building. She dug Soul's blade into the bricks, pleased to feel them split and slow down her fall. She pried him out and dropped the rest of the way, landing not so gracefully on her feet. She steadied herself and clutched Soul tightly again, looking up at the thing that had caused her to fail.

The thing was a witch, it seemed. It was the same mouse like person that she had seen on the news that morning. She was tiny – maybe half of Maka's height – and only half of her squished face was visible. Three long, glowing blades were sticking out of her cheeks on each side, making a very dangerous pair of whiskers.

"I can't believe she tried to kill us, Mizune!" Eruka said in a mock appalled tone. "After all, we're all witches! It's betrayal to kill your own kind, you know."

"I'm nothing like you," Maka said quietly as her eyes narrowed. She looked up suddenly and stared the purple toned witch straight in the eye. "We're not the same!"

Eruka dropped down from her high spot on the half destroyed building and landed gently on her feet. Her long hair fell back into place around her face and she brushed off some dirt from her polka dotted dress.

"If you're the daughter of Kami, then, yes, we are the same." Another tadpole shaped ball of energy formed in her hands and she attempted to smile. "I-I'm not here to fight, b-but I will if I have to. I'm just here to deliver a message to show what you're up against if you chose Shibusen."

"My mother sent you?" Maka shouted in shock. "Liar!"

"It doesn't matter who sent me, geko." Eruka frowned. "I'm not here for anything more than a message… That's what they told me."

"Maka!" Soul shouted as he bent his scythe form so that his eye could look at her. "We don't want to hear her message, you idiot! We want her soul."

"Hey," Death the Kid called from his spot behind the technician. "I'll take the flying one since I have an automatic weapon. You take the other one."

Maka ripped her eyes away from Eruka's and looked over at the Shinigami's son and smiled. "Okay."

"Geko? They're going to fight? This isn't what I was told would happen!" Eruka freaked, waving her arms. She was about to turn into a frog, but she had to dodge a blow of a scythe before she could. Maka wasn't going to give her a chance to escape – her rapid swinging of Soul proved her determination.

"You're really starting to annoy me," Eruka whined as she continued to dodge Maka's blows. "I don't want to fight right now!"

"Then you shouldn't have caused such a scene!" Maka shouted in reply, adding a grunt of frustration. She hated not being able to sweep through a target's body on the first try. It was even more aggravating that it was taking multiple times to even graze the witch.

"You think I'm the one that's going to get hurt tonight?" Eruka stopped, blinking in realization. She wasn't being sarcastic, she was honestly wondering. She stared at the meister curiously. "Do you not know what I'm capable of?"

"The only thing I've seen you do is bounce of spazzy fish eggs, you hag!" Soul shouted as his image appeared in the blade of his scythe self. His sharp teeth glistened as a bit of drool dripped down his bottom lip. He smiled a wide, scary grin. "I can't wait to taste your soul."

"Ah, so you do think that I'm the one who is going to die…" Eruka whispered, causing Maka to stop mid swing. "How unfortunate."

Maka was confused. Weren't they the ones with the advantage here? After all, they had a Shinigami fighting on their side. Of course Eruka and her mouse friend were the ones who were going to die. It was the only reasonable outcome.

A flash bounded out of Eruka's palm and towards Maka quickly. On instinct, she spun the scythe in front of her in order to repel it – usually this worked pretty well. Soul never had gotten hurt from it before. Not until today, at least.

As the purple mass of energy hit the spinning Soul, Maka heard him cry out and felt a warm liquid seep through her gloves and brush her skin. She stopped quickly, jumping out of the way of the rest of the energy and fell to the ground after losing her footing on the already unstable ground. She held Soul out in her palms and studied him, searching for the origin of the blood.

"How are you hurt?" Maka asked feverishly. "We've done that move a thousand times and you've never gotten hurt before! I've never seen you bleed in your weapon form, Soul. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he grunted – he hid himself from Maka so that she couldn't see his face that was distorted in pain. "Don't worry about me. Get up before she makes another –"

It was too late for Soul to warn her. A rather large explosion happened nearly a foot away from where Maka was sitting, causing her to fall onto her side, covering Soul with her body. She remembered how the two pistols from before had been damaged by Eruka's blow, and the attacks looked more powerful then what they were before the fight began. She didn't want Soul to be hurt any more than he already was; it wasn't fair.

She felt pain shoot through her body as she made contact with one of the mass of energy. She grunted and held back the scream that she wanted to let slip from her lips, but she smiled. She had saved Soul from the pain and that enough. Another attack exploded on her back, causing her to yell in anguish a bit louder.

"What are you doing, moron? Get up and block her attacks with me! Why are you lying down? This isn't a time for naps, Maka!" Soul practically screamed angrily as he tried his hardest to move the technician from off of his scythe form. He tried to turn back into his human self, but he had no room to do that without injuring his partner, which was the complete opposite of what he was trying to do. "Come on, fight! We're indestructible!"

Maka ignored him and jumped up, only stumbling slightly, and clutched the scythe between her chest and arms. She would rather run away cowardly then allow her weapon to be hurt, or worse. She was always the one to play it on the safest side possible. She ran with her back to the frog like witch as fast as she could, ignoring Soul's protests.

"What the hell are you doing?" He kept shouting. "Stop being a baby and fight! Why do you always run away?"

With the last line he said, she skidded to a stop. Maka clutched onto the steel handle tightly and twisted her hands onto it, lowering her head in defeat. Soul was right. She was tired of running away when things scared her. She was tired of fearing everything… She was sick of being weak.

"Why aren't you shielding yourself?" Soul continued with a yell, straining to move his weapon body. "I can't feel anything in scythe mode, you know that!"

Maka jumped, dodging a blast of energy. Normally, she would be using Soul as a buffer, but this wasn't a normal situation.

"These witches are different, Soul. They know magic that can hurt you, even in scythe mode. There is no way you'd survive." Maka explained with a grunt as she leapt onto a building top, out of reach of the witch. "Their magic is very strong. Its short ranged though. Good for us."

Soul frowned. How was he supposed to protect Maka, his technician, if the people they were fighting against could cut through him like butter? Even in his prided scythe mode – even though he was one of the top five strongest student weapons in Shibusen – he was powerless against the duo. This was a job for a Death Scythe, not a student. Somehow, he still felt hope. He stayed silent, however, knowing well that Maka would say he was crazy for feeling anything but fear.

"We have to find a way to escape," she rushed, looking around in panic. There was no where else to run except to leap off the building, and from the damage she'd already taken for Soul's sake, it was impossible.

"You just made it easier for us!" the purpled haired witch laughed with glee. "Didn't she, Mizune? She's dead!"

A blur of bright colors brewed in her hands as her magic build feedback. Maka calculated the distance between them and smiled – she was far enough away to be safe. The witch obviously wasn't aware of her own weakness. She breathed a sigh of relief as she glanced around for an escape, thankful for the extra time. A ladder caught her eye – as the witch fired her attack, Maka would take the chance.

Then everything went wrong.

Maka wasn't sure when the explosion had happened, where it had come from, or when Soul returned to his human form. It seemed to all happen in the blink of an eye, though everything revolved slowly. A scream of horror escaped her throat at the sight that taunted her in front of her face.

Unlike the attacks Eruka had sent, this one didn't disappear with an explosion. Soul was withering in pain mid air in a halo of purple. Blood was spilling out of him in all directions – Maka wasn't sure where the wound was. She didn't know anything.

"Soul!" She screamed. Her voice was high pitched and scratchy. She jumped up and tried to grab him, but it was as if he had a protective shield around him which didn't allow anything near. She dropped to her knees and felt hot tears pouring down her face. Was this actually happening? She hoped with all of her might that it was just a horrible nightmare.

"Stop it!" she begged, binding her hands into tight fists over her heart. "Please, stop it!"

Eruka just smiled a sloppy half smile, as if she was sheepish. The finishing blow had actually come from Mizune instead of her, despite what they were told to do if things got out of hand. She was thankful, however, that her mouse friend had saved her life. For a moment, she was sure that Maka was going to kill her.

"Stop!" Maka screamed, holding out her hands flat now. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!"

She closed her eyes tight and kept screaming that, wondering if anyone would ever listen. She felt so helpless. Her best friend was being slowly ripped apart in front of her and she could do nothing but listen to his agony. He was trying hard not to scream, but sounds of pain escaped his lips from time to time, piercing Maka's heart with a thousand knives.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open.

"Stop it."

She wasn't begging any more, she was commanding. Eruka paused, her eyes narrowing in confusion at Maka's change of attitude, only to widen again,

Maka stood up slowly and balled her hands into fists at her side. She wanted nothing more than the situation in front of her to stop, and it was going to stop. Somehow she knew exactly what to do. No matter how hard she tried to shove down her past, it seemed that it only grew stronger. She felt the rebuked power bubble up and pulsate the air around her.

She closed her eyes, and for the first time in more than four years, Maka purposely used magic.

In an instant, it was all over. Soul's trap was gone, sending him to fall lifelessly on the ground. She didn't know where Shinigami's son was, and, at the moment, she didn't care. Her eyes were locked on Soul and only Soul.

Death the Kid bounded up the ladder, looking at the scene with wide eyes. He had been so sure that he had gotten the tiny witch with his gun, but it seemed as if she dodged every single shot. He huffed and brought the Liz and Patty up, aiming at the rejoicing witch. He pulled both triggers multiple times with his eyes closed, allowing the Shinigami like anger to seep through his actions.

When he opened them, there was nothing but a soul floating in the place of the small witch, and the taller, frog like witch was lying on the ground. She was struggling to get up, but she was failing miserably.

"See? Just like us." Eruka gasped from the ground as she clutched her chest with a wheeze. "Only worse. You're a traitor."

With that, a frog hopped away, leaving Maka to stare at her tingling hands. What was she just doing? It felt like it was supposed to be important, but her brain was blank. The only thing she could think of was how she had just used magic and at how wrong it felt. She curled her upper lip up and put her head in her hands, trying to suppress the disgusting feeling that weighed her heart. She was a monster – something that children were told about around a campfire or read in a book.

A hand fell on top of her knee, grabbing her attention. Her head shot up and her wide green eyes fell upon an extremely familiar face. The boy's face was twisted in pain – his red eyes glossed over. Maka gasped.

"Soul!" she shouted hoarsely, crawling over to him quickly. She picked up his torso with a grunt and laid him on her lap, covering herself in his warm blood. Hot tears spilled over her eyes and ran down her face quickly, landing on her partner's forehead.

Soul's brow twitched and a small noise escaped his throat. His eyes were open, but they saw nothing. The pain had muffled everything around him.

"You're so stupid!" Maka shouted. Her voice sounded so far away. "Why would you do that? Please don't die. Hold on, Soul!"

"He's not going to die," a quiet voice said from behind her. She turned to see her father and his ex-technician, Dr. Stein, who had been the speaker. His face was terrifyingly solemn. "I'm going to take care of him."

Instinctively, Maka brought Soul closer to her, pressing their faces together. She was still crying freely from shock – normally she hated crying and tried her hardest not to. She'd been doing a good job until recently. It seemed as if she was crying everyday now.

"Maka," Spirit said gently as he put his hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I'm sorry. We should have gotten here sooner."

Maka released her grip on Soul, allowing Stein to pick him up and carry him off the building top and into an ambulance. She hadn't even realized it had pulled up.

"Idiot!" Maka shouted after the ambulance as it pulled away. Her fists tightened at her sides and she hung her head, grinding her teeth in aggravation. She sniffed and dried her tears until her eyes stung.

It was in that moment that she promised herself she would grow stronger for Soul's sake, even if she was no longer a Shibusen student – which was now the case since she had used magic. He would never have to protect her again with his own body because she would be the one protecting him. She wrapped her Soul Protection around her tiny soul as tightly as she could, suffocating it.

Her eyes hardened. She was going to get stronger, and then she was going to kill the witch named Eruka.

She was going to enjoy it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater.

**A/N:** Thanks again for the awesome reviews!

Another really cool thing is that ~IceFairie over on deviantART drew a cute fan art piece that goes with this story. I think it's so cool that she took what I described and put in onto paper in the form of a drawing, plus her style is lovely. You should all check it out – link on my profile!

Oh, and I added a few more links on my profile as well, so check them out!

This chapter is a bit short ): It features a lot of dark!Maka for obvious reasons. The plot is picking up, yay!

Enough with the A/N, now for the story!

* * *

Maka pulled her knees up to her face and sighed as she struggled to keep wake. Her eyelids were heavy, but she wouldn't allow them to close. She wanted to be awake the moment Soul got out of surgery, even though Stein had informed her that it would take at least one to two hours. His words spun in her mind. Though she had only half listened to him, what he was trying to get across was loud and clear.

_He's lost a lot of blood… We might need a transfusion… There is always a chance he won't make it…_

The doctor was as blunt as ever – she really shouldn't have expected much less – but she still had a feeling he was still sugar coating it. The power waves of the magic that hit Soul... It didn't seem right. It didn't have intent of damaging things; it was set of destroying everything in its path.

"You know, I wish you wouldn't run off and do dangerous stuff like that without me. It pisses me off!"

Maka looked up slowly, blinking a few times to clear her vision. Black Star stood over her with his hands on his hips. His face wearing his usual arrogant expression and his head was still high. Maka envied him for his strength – both emotionally and physically.

"Where's Tsubaki?" Maka asked. Her voice was hoarse, so she cleared it uncomfortably.

"Can't I, a future god, go somewhere without Tsubaki? I am a man; I don't need a woman by my side constantly!" Black Star shouted rather obnoxiously.

"This is news to me," Maka teased half heartedly, giving her friend a small smile. She pressed her head against the wall and ran her hands over her face – they were still gloved. With a sigh, she took them off and laid them next to her on the floor.

When she looked back up, she jumped to see Black Star's smiling face inches from her own.

"Cheer up, yeah?" He said, giving her a wink. "It's no good to be sad about something that can't be helped."

"It could have been helped though." Maka said in reply. Her voice was a little louder than it needed to be. "I have all this power and I couldn't figure out what to do with it in time."

"Come on, Maka, don't be like that. Soul knew what he was doing." Black Star patted the dirty blonde on the head twice, treating her like she was a child, and put his hands back on his hips. He always had the tendency to milk their year's worth of age distance for all that he could.

"Of course you would understand why he did it. You two are both idiots."

"That may be so!" Black Star said with a loud laugh. "But I never said I understood why he did it."

Before Maka could reply, the door to the room Soul and Stein were in opened and the stitched doctor walked out at a lazy pace. His dull eyes went over to Maka and looked as if he were bored. He then gave a sloppy smile – he wasn't used to using that sort of expression – and a thumb up.

"Everything turned out okay?" She asked in a rushed voice as she jumped up, nearly knocking over Black Star. "How is he?"

"Like I said, he lost a lot of blood. Not enough that a week of rest couldn't fix, though. He had a strange reaction to the anesthetic, but he should be over that in a few hours." The glare on the doctor's glasses made it hard to see his eyes, so Maka couldn't tell if his optimism was real or not. She decided not to worry too much about it – she would find out herself soon enough.

"Can I see him now?" she asked, looking at the room out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, go ahead," Stein replied with a passive wave of his hand before shoving it in his lab coat pocket. He started to say something else, but Maka had already disappeared into the room before he could begin.

She rushed over to the bed on the farthest side – there were three lined up with their headboards on the wall – and allowed her eyes to scan all that she could of her fallen partner. Soul's hair was matted to his head, unlike its usual messy style. His face looked peaceful, which was a relief. She had feared that it would look the same as the last time she'd seen it. The only thing that troubled her was the long, thin scar that ran from his collar bone and disappeared underneath his shirt, probably extending further.

She sighed and sat in the chair that was seated next to Soul's bed and rested her chin on the edge of the mattress. She stared at Soul for a while, wondering if her technique of waking him up would work after being dosed with a large amount of sedatives. Of course, it didn't, but she kept staring at him just to be sure the only visible damage was the scar.

Right when Maka was allowing her eyes to close, Soul let out a groan of pain. His peaceful face twisted in all directions and his hands twitched, bunching up some of the sheets he was under. Maka grabbed his hand with both of hers and attempted to soothe him. It didn't look right to see him like this – she wasn't the strong one, he was.

"I'm sorry!" she proclaimed loudly. "I won't let this happen again, Soul."

A few seconds ticked by and Soul's face went back to normal. He must have slipped into consciousness for a moment. Maka could only imagine how painful his wound was. She ran her finger over the freshly stitched wound, not touching it in fear of hurting him, but curious enough to want to feel the air surrounding it.

As she expected, the air buzzed with the magic's electricity that still lingered on his skin. The blast had built up long enough to burn itself into his body. She remembered her mother telling her to never attack a human because of the after effects the magic had on their bodies – sometimes bonding the human and witch together for all eternity. Luckily, Death the Kid had killed the witch who attacked Soul, so Maka didn't have to worry about that.

"Wake up, Soul," Maka pressed, not caring that Stein had told her it would take hours. She wanted to hear him say he was okay, even if she didn't believe him.

"Force his eyes open and aim them towards my face!" Black Star exclaimed as he walked in the room, followed closely by Tsubaki, who was carrying a bag. "My god-like face will make him feel healed at once!"

He leaned over the bed Soul was lying in and tried to pry his eyes open. Before he could, however, he was sent to the ground by Maka, who had hit him hard in the skull with a book. Fire blazed in her eyes.

"Don't touch him," she growled, lifting the book again to strike him.

"Where did you even get that?" he shouted as he cradled his head in defense.

Tsubaki nervously laughed as Maka brought down the book again, not answering the other technician. She looked protective over her partner – it was almost frighteningly motherly. Tsubaki smiled to herself, she would probably do the same thing with Black Star. Though, she didn't think she would have to due to her partner's inability to get one kishin egg soul, never mind fight a witch.

"Maka," Tsubaki said a little loudly, halting her friend mid-swing. She brought up the bag that she was holding and smiled. "I brought your presents since we were interrupted. I think you and Soul could open them when he wakes up; maybe he'll feel a little better once he sees his gift."

"Yeah, maybe. Thanks, Tsubaki." Maka replied as cheerfully as she could, but failed. She attempted a smile, but it felt more like a grimace. Her eyes drooped since she was caught off guard, but she opened them quickly.

"Thanks for my manga, Maka! Now I can read it in class when I'm bored. Plus the main guy is almost as big and strong as I am!" Black Star shouted from the ground, jumping up and putting his hands on his hips. "What did you get Soul anyways?"

"Like I'm going to tell you! You'd probably tell him the moment he woke up, big mouth!" Maka exclaimed, hiding her smile of pleasure. She had been trying her hardest over the years to get Black Star to read anything, but had been doing a horrible job at it. She was glad she finally picked something he wanted to read. She took the bag from Tsubaki, glanced at the clock and frowned. "Why are you guys here? It's three AM."

"That death god wannabe freak stopped by and told us what happened. I was gonna fight him, but I figured I'd wake Soul up with my glorious atmosphere instead!" Black Star said with a shout and a large smirk. "I could go weeks without sleep!"

"Maka, you should go home and get some rest. Black Star and I will wait by Soul if you'd like," Tsubaki offered as she rolled her eyes. Sometimes her partner's ego was too much, even for her.

"No, you guys should sleep. I'm supposed to meet with Shinigami-sama anyways…" Maka frowned. "Thanks, though."

Black Star and Tsubaki both said their reluctant goodbyes and left. Despite at how he presented himself, Black Star was worried for both Soul and Maka. He didn't like Soul in the hospital bed, and he didn't like Maka to be so upset.

Maka laid her head down on the bed again and stopped fighting her heavy eyelids, allowing them to close. Darkness overtook her instantly and she continued to fall deeper into her subconscious.

She had a dream she kept falling further and further into a bottomless pit, and she didn't mind it one bit.

* * *

Soul clenched his eyes tightly as he started to come to, not wanting to wake up just yet. The pain in his chest kept winding itself around his heart and lungs, making it difficult to breathe. It was easier when he was sleeping, and dreaming about walking in a park with Maka. He wished that his simple dream would replace this reality.

A hand squeezed his knee and he winced – opening his eyes to snap at whoever thought that it was an okay idea. He was about to shout when he saw that it was a sleeping Maka who was holding tightly onto him like if she let go, she would fall off the bed. Her torso was on the bed with him– her left hand was holding onto his, and her right hand was holding onto his leg.

"Oi, Maka, you're starting to hurt me," Soul said roughly as he pressed on her right shoulder gently. "Get up, this is really uncomfortable."

Slowly, Maka opened her eyes and saw that her upper body was sprawled on top of Soul's bed. She was dazed at first, but then she remembered. She flew up suddenly and her eyes grew wide as she searched Soul again, looking for anymore damage that could have been done while she was asleep. The only difference she saw was his face – it didn't look peaceful now that he was awake.

"Oh, you're awake," she said dumbly as she rubbed her arms. "How do you feel?"

"Great; never been better," he lied. He saw that her face was already creased in worry and didn't want to make it worse. "What about you?"

"I wasn't the one who got hurt," she whispered and looked at him with guilty eyes.

"Hey, don't worry about me, okay? It's going to take a lot more than a stupid witch and bring me down." He smiled with his sharp teeth and patted his chest, only to wince. He glanced down and saw the long scar trailing all the way under his shirt.

"Do you feel it?" Maka asked, ignoring his words. "You'll never be the same, you know."

"Will I stay cool?" Soul asked lightly, giving a small shrug. "That's all I care about… unless I turn into some zombie."

"This isn't a joke! You could have died!" Maka shouted, bunching her hands into fists. She lowered her head so he wouldn't see her angry expression. "Why did you do that? You're such an idiot! I told you it was dangerous and you come out of scythe mode? That witch didn't kill you because she knew I'd do it for her after that stupid stunt! What were you thinking?"

Soul grabbed her hand her brought her down roughly, making their faces only two inches apart. His heavy breath tickled her face.

"I was thinking that I needed to protect the most important thing I could think of."

Maka stopped breathing for a second; she was suddenly very aware that they were the only two in the room. Her face felt hot. She sat up straight and looked away from Soul.

"What do you mean?" she asked with a huff, trying to shake off whatever she was feeling.

"I did it to protect you. As your weapon, I'm always willing to die for –"

"Idiot!" Maka looked backs at her partner with narrowed eyes. "I don't want to hear your textbook excuses! Tell me the real reason."

"What other reason do I have? I'm not suicidal; I just do what feels right!"

"How could that have been right?" Maka snapped between clenched teeth. "If you think that's right, then you are more stupid than I thought!"

"Is that what you think?" Soul asked as he looked at his partner in annoyance.

"That's what I know," she replied stubbornly as she crossed her arms with a huff.

"Then you don't know anything." Soul's voice was hard and frightening. Maka opened her eyes wide in surprise. "Since you're not in this bed, it was worth it and I'd do it again."

"Why are you saying that? I'm nothing. You're a one of a kind weapon, and I'm just a meister. I'm replaceable." Maka shook her head, not understanding his logic.

"Now you're the idiot," Soul snapped. "A cool guy like me could get another technician at any moment – I know that. But I can't get another you, Maka."

Maka blinked with a blank face for a few beats before bursting into a fit of laughter. Soul cracked a sloppy halfhearted smile and looked at his best friend. He was glad he had accepted her partner request – he didn't think anyone else would understand him like she did. It felt nice to be understood every once in a while, but this time… he wasn't sure if he wanted her to.

"Well, regardless as to why you did it, it was stupid and if you ever do it again, I'll destroy you." Maka gave the weapon a smile. "I'm going to get stronger!"

Soul's smile faded slightly. Her face was set hard in determination and her smile scared him a little. It almost looked like the sly, wicked smile that was on her mother's face the day before. He shoved the thought to the back of his mind and inwardly cursed himself – Maka wasn't like that. She was nothing like her bitch for a mother.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked as he nodded to a pile of black and yellow fabric on the table next to Maka. His eyes widened in realization. "No…"

"It's your jacket," Maka replied slowly, confirming his worst fears. "The attack tore it to shreds…"

"Not my cool jacket!" Soul shouted with a groan. "What am I going to do now? That was my trademark! How will people tell how cool I am?"

"So your jacket was your secret to your success? All this time I thought it was you!" Maka giggled and picked up a bag next to her. "Tsubaki brought by our Christmas presents. I guess this is a good time to open them. You know, before…" She trailed off and shook her head, lifting a rectangle shaped box wrapped in dark purple paper out of the bag.

Soul was confused for a moment at her last statement, but he shrugged. "You're weird."

He took the gift from her and tried to sit up. Despite the shooting pain in his chest, he was able to prop himself up with some help from Maka. He smiled a thanks and began to unwrap his present as messily as possible. Each time he moved his arms it felt like fire shooting through his body, but he didn't tell Maka this. He tried his hardest not to show pain on even his expression.

He lifted the lid off the white box and reached inside, bringing out a black leather jacket. His eyebrows rose as he scanned it. It looked pricey. The buttons were obviously customs – they were tiny white circles with the Shinigami's mask printed on them. He pressed the leather in his hands and felt the texture while smiling.

"Are you sure that you didn't rip that jacket up so I would appreciate this more?" he asked curiously as he quirked an eyebrow. "I wouldn't put it past you."

"As much as I hated it, I didn't to the honors," Maka teased lightly. "Plus I thought that it would be in your definition of cool."

"It is cool," Soul said as he folded the jacket slowly and put it in the box. He fumbled with the top before Maka took it from him and closed it herself. "It's much cooler than books, anyway."

"Hey! I thought you said you liked the book I got you!" Maka exclaimed a little angrily.

"You should open my present now…" Soul said quickly with a forced wince in order to remind Maka he was already hurt and she shouldn't press the matter any more before she hit him.

"Oh," she blinked, her anger draining. "Which one is yours?"

"The green one." The color of the plain wrapping paper had reminded him of Maka, so he asked the cashier to wrap her gift in that. He now noticed it was the same shade as the light in her eyes. Had they always been so bright?

The box was a little larger than the one Soul had just opened. She gently tore it – as she always did – and crumpled the paper in a neat ball, sitting it on the ground to be thrown away later. She opened the box and her eyes widened at what it held.

"Isn't this what I told you would look cool in battles a few months ago?" she asked as a smile crept up on her face. "How did you remember?"

"I bought it the next day," Soul admitted sheepishly. "Do you like it?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed excitedly as she pulled out the long, black trench coat from the tan box. She held it up to her chest and smiled brightly. The coat trailed down to her ankles in the back, and in the front it cut off right before her midriff. It was feminine but still threatening at once. It was what she wanted to be.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" a slightly familiar voice said from the door, causing Maka to bring down her new coat and look in the direction it came from.

Death the Kid stood in the doorway with his hand on his hip and his partners surrounding him with smiles on.

"Oh, Kid-kun!" Maka said in surprise. "You're not interrupting, come in."

Kid did as he was told and tried to casually look around the room. His eyes widened when they saw the medicine cabinet and promptly walked over, opening it. He took a deep breath and started to take bottles out, placing them on the counter in what looked like a color coded manner.

"Is he okay?" Soul asked Patty with an odd look.

"Kid-kun is broken!" Patty laughed as she pointed at her meister.

"No, not broken, just hopeless," Liz corrected with a sigh.

"This cabinet is disgusting," Kid muttered as he continued to remove everything. "It has so much potential to be beautiful, yet it chose to live the asymmetrical lifestyle. Ridiculous, honestly…"

"Eh? It's just a medicine cabinet. Stop being a freak and explain why you're here," Soul snapped. He didn't like the Shinigami's son – he seemed arrogant. Plus the way he spoke to Maka at the danced pissed him of more than he would like to admit.

"There is beauty in everything that is symmetrical!" Kid declared as he shot Soul a look from behind his shoulder. His hold eyes caught sight of Maka. "Ah, Maka, still symmetrical as always! I came to tell you something – a message from my father."

"Oh…" Maka said slowly with a frown. "Okay, what does Shinigami-sama have to say?"

"He'd like for you to go into the Death Room for a meeting as soon as possible." Kid turned around and looked at the girl with a serious face. "He wants to discuss what happened… I'm sure you understand what he means."

Maka's head dropped and she nodded – she did know what it meant. It meant that she was going to get expelled for using her magic after she promised she would never. What was she going to do now? Her shame would drive her out of Death City and into what exactly? She was scared for her future.

"What is going on?" Soul asked with a confused expression. "If it's about my accident, then I'm going, too. I'm not going to let Maka get in trouble for what I did."

"It's not about that," Maka replied hesitantly. "Don't worry about it now, I'll explain later."

"I'm still going with you," Soul said firmly as he stared at his partner with hard eyes. He didn't know what the meeting could possibly be about, but it seemed important. If it involved Maka and what happened last night, he wanted to be there with her in case he had to stand up for her in any way.

"Fine." Maka was reluctant to say it, but she said it nonetheless. She frowned and wondered what Soul would think about her using magic, especially magic with the high level of power that she used.

"Oh, good, I was hoping you would wake up soon." Dr. Stein strolled into the infirmary. A cigarette hung loosely at his lips and he trailed smoke behind him. "Mind if I do some tests?"

"I don't think I have a choice," Soul replied with a smirk as he straightened up again slowly, careful to hide his wince of pain from Maka. Her ace already looked worried enough.

"Excellent answer," Stein said coolly as he walked over to his patient and stubbed out his cigarette. It was obvious he didn't worry much about lung cancer or second hand smoke – none of the others seemed to mind either. He motioned for Soul to take off his shirt, which he did cautiously while ignoring the shooting pain.

"We'll leave now," Kid said smoothly as he shut the cabinet door to the medicine shelf that was now neatly organized. "Talk to you later, Maka. Soul."

"Bye, Kid-kun." Maka waved, noticing how Soul just stared at the death god and his partners as he left, not bothering to say a farewell.

"It was a clean wound; easy to stitch up." Stein noted as he observed the swollen line that zigzagged down Soul's chest. "It should heal just as easily and pretty quickly, but that scar is going to be there for a long time, if not forever."

Maka frowned as she stared openly at her partner's well fit chest. The scar seemed so out of place on an otherwise flawless torso – it wasn't right. Soul wasn't the one who the witches were after and he was the one ended up hurt. Why was Soul being punished for something that was her fault?

"Maka and I have a meeting with Shinigami-sama," Soul said as he put back on his white shirt slowly. "Is it cool if we go now?"

"Oh, yeah, do whatever you want. I don't care," Stein replied passively with a wave of his hand, lighting another cigarette.

"What? Aren't you my doctor?" Soul asked with an annoyed expression. "That's real comforting since you did my surgery and all!"

"It's not like you would have listened to me anyway." Stein quirked an eyebrow at the boy and gave a small smirk. "Am I wrong?"

Soul just shrugged and threw his legs over his bed, finding it much easier to move the bottom part of his body than the upper half. It would be an easier task to walk than he thought, and for that he was grateful. He was too proud to ask help from Maka, but he was almost sure that on his way to the Death Room he would have to if it got too difficult.

He smiled triumphantly and stood up, noticing Maka's flushed cheeks.

"What?" he asked as he patted his chest lightly checking if he had his shirt on. She'd seen him shirtless before and this was her usual uncomfortable reaction, but what could be the reason this time?

"Soul… Your pants." Maka ducked her head as if she was embarrassed by the sight of her partner in just his thin boxers. Truth be told, she was. But hadn't he stolen a peek at her in her underwear? It seemed fair, but still awkward. Especially since she didn't mind it at all – it was actually feeling like the complete opposite.

"Why are my pants gone?" Soul snapped as he jumped back into bed quickly, covering up his bare legs. "Where are they?"

Stein sighed and handed over a plastic bag that held the clothes that didn't get destroyed in the attack. What remained were just Soul's red pants and his left shoe.

"Great," Soul mumbled as he sheepishly motioned Maka to turn around so he could slip on his jeans even though she just saw him in his underwear clad glory moments before. He briefly wondered if her reaction was good or not, but then decided it didn't matter. Why did he care? It was just Maka.

After he was covered, Soul allowed Dr. Stein to wrap his wound with gauze so it wouldn't get irritated with his shirt rubbing on him. He sighed and slipped on a pair of loafers that the infirmary and tried not to look at them.

"This is so uncool," he muttered. He turned to Maka and motioned for her to begin walking. The whole time she had sat with her head ducked and her fists clenched her skirt, rising it up a little too high for his comfort. Was this all because he accidentally stood up without pants? It was strange to see her acting like this – he wasn't used to it.

"Soul, there's something I need to tell you." Maka's voice was barely above a whisper and it was laced with nervousness.

"You can tell me on the way there, can't you?" Soul asked. His legs were itching to walk – he felt like he had been lying down for days even though he knew it was just a few hours.

"Uh, y-yeah." She stumbled for the right words to say for a moment as she stood before looking at her partner with wild eyes. "But you have to promise that you won't get angry at me!"

"I promise I won't get angry," Soul said slowly as he narrowed his eyes worriedly at Maka. Why was she acting so strange? She seemed fine before. Girls – especially when it came to Maka – were confusing and weird.

"Then I guess we should go," Maka sighed as she started walking. She paused and waited for Soul, deciding it would be best to walk next to him in case he needed any of her help. She matched his pace and walked out, staring at him all the way. She could tell that his face was distorted in discomfort, but his eyes were set on not complaining about it.

She felt a tiny twinge of admiration and jealousy. He was so strong.

"So, what is it?" Soul asked after a few minutes of silence. The halls were empty since it was a Saturday and school was out, so it seemed safe enough to start talking here.

"After you were attacked, I lost control," Maka admitted quickly before she could change her mind. She knew it was going to sound better coming from her then Shinigami-sama, but she didn't want to tell him. Would he be afraid of her? "I attacked back without thinking…"

"You used magic." It wasn't a question, but a statement. Soul looked at her with a soft expression – something completely opposite of what she was expecting, but it was worse. It wasn't fear or hatred, but it was pity. It stabbed her like a knife and for some reason, angered her.

"Don't look at me like that," she half snapped, averting her eyes away from his face. "I don't need your sympathy. I got rid of the witch easily – without even trying."

"Maka… You sound like…" Soul trailed off with a frown, not wanting to finish the sentence. What he wanted to say was that she was starting to sound like she _liked_ using magic. He refused to even fully think the scenario.

"I didn't like it if that's what you're wondering," Maka said almost passively, as if she could read his thoughts. Sometimes he figured that she could. "I just felt… powerful."

Soul was silent for a few minutes as he tried to digest everything that she was saying. There was something so completely different about his partner that he didn't understand. When he last saw her – at the battle the night before – she was the same old, frustrating Maka, but now she was someone else entirely it seemed. Someone who craved something so desperately but didn't tell anyone what it was.

"That kind of power is illusion," Soul said finally. "I think you're powerful enough as you are now."

She stopped suddenly and looked at her partner, searching his face for whether or not he was being truthful. His eyes were tired, as always, but they were serious enough to be believable. She half expected him to crack one of his smiles that he always flashed after teasing her, but his mouth stayed in a straight line.

She couldn't help but smile. There he went again making everything seem like it was okay again, even when it definitely wasn't.

"You're really uncool sometimes, you know that, right?" Maka teased as she started walking again, her steps were much lighter now.

"Only around you because I have to match our coolness levels so that you can keep up," Soul retorted with a small shrug. It was nice to see his partner her normal somewhat gloomy natured self again.

They arrived at the Death Room after a few more minutes. Maka stopped heavily in front of the large doors and paused, not wanting to walk in. Though she was feeling somewhat better, she wasn't feeling confident enough to face Shinigami and explain just why she broke her promise. It seemed obvious enough to her, but would it be enough for him? As she opened the doors, she hoped to hell that it was.

"Maka-chan! Soul-kun! So glad to see that you both are alright and alive!" the large death sang as he twirled around the face the two students who approached him from the long hall.

"Hello, Shinigami-sama," Maka greeted formally with a bow. She elbowed Soul to do the same – he did so sloppily.

"I can assume that you are already aware of why I called you here on a weekend," Shinigami began, jumping into business. "Maka Albarn, you used magic even though you were directed otherwise. Care to explain?"

"She did it to protect me!" Soul explained, stepping forward, not caring if he got scolded for speaking out of turn. "I jumped in front of her out of scythe mode and saved her from an attack. If she didn't use magic, I would have died. It was stupid of her, but she saved my life with that stupidity, and you can't honestly punish her for doing it!"

Maka deadpanned. What Soul had just said described how she felt about his situation perfectly. If he hadn't jumped in front of her to block the attack, she wouldn't have been able to use magic and defeat Eruka. What he did was stupid, and it didn't make her any less angry at him for it, but if he hadn't of done it, they would have both been done for.

"I see. Is that right, Maka? Did you use magic to save cute Soul-kun?" Shinigami inquired curiously, cocking his cartoon like mask.

"Y-yes," she stumbled madly. Was this really going to be this easy? "When I purposely released all of that pent up magic it was with the full intent of saving Soul's life. I know I promised you that I would never use it unless you told me otherwise, but I really felt that I had no choice. As his meister, I will protect him at all costs."

She was surprised at how firm her voice was. It was a good act – she should win an award for this façade she was putting on.

"Ah, I see," the death god repeated slowly, drawing out each of his words thoughtfully. Even though his face couldn't be seen, it was obvious that he was taking the explanation into serious consideration.

Maka bunched her fists in anticipation and shut her eyes hard, waiting for Shinigami to tell her to pack her things and head out. Her breathing tightened in her chest with nervousness. Just when she thought she couldn't take the silence anymore – just when she thought she was going to explode – a hand grabbed hers and held it tightly.

Her eyes opened and she looked curiously down at her hand that was wrapped around another. She followed the arm up and saw that it was Soul's. She blinked for a few moments before responding by giving him a small squeeze of thanks. His crimson eyes didn't move from Shinigami, but his mouth formed a very small smile.

Maka wanted to call him an idiot for smiling at a time like this, but her mouth couldn't form words.

"Well," Shinigami-sama's words were slow again, but at least he was talking. "I trust that you see the error and danger in your ways…"

"Yes! I really do, Shinigami-sama. I understand if I need to be punished, but please don't expel me!" Maka said feverishly as she gave Soul's hand death grip.

"Eh? Expel you? Why would I do that? You didn't use magic to hurt anyone but a witch to protect a Shibusen student, silly Maka-chan!" Shinigami laughed and shrugged. "I was merely checking up on you to see if you were okay!"

Maka dropped to the ground hard, letting go of Soul's hand. She stared wide eyed at the cartoon like headmaster. Her mouth opened and shut in attempt to say something – she was sure she looked like a moron – but, again, words failed her.

"You weren't going to expel me?" she finally shouted. "No punishments? No scolding? Nothing? I don't believe this! I almost had a heart attack on the way here because I was so scared and all you wanted to do was check up on me?"

She was standing now and throwing around her fists and legs angrily. Did the death god enjoy playing tricks on her? Was he really so sadistic to make it seem like she was in trouble when the meeting was really innocent? She was annoyed at herself for getting so worked up, she was annoyed at Soul for not trying to convince her otherwise, and she was annoyed at the Shinigami for making the meeting seem more important than it really was.

"Ohohoh, she's scary when she's angry!" Shinigami sang as he clapped his large hands together. "You remind me so much of your mother, Maka-chan!"

Maka froze at his last words.

"My mother?" She turned and faced Shinigami with a frown as she remembered something. "I think my mother had something to do with the attack. Actually, I'm almost sure of it."

"Yes, I suspected as much." His voice was sad. It was as if someone had just informed him that a colleague had died. Maka guessed that it was how it felt to him, too. "We're going to have to stop her. The ending might not be pretty."

"Shinigami-sama," Maka said in a rushed tone, "if you're bringing down my mother then I want to be apart of it. She's not the same… there's something different about her. Something I can't explain, but I hate. I want to be there when she falls."

Maka shoved all good memories of the mother she knew before in a dark corner, locking it away with other various things. That mother didn't exist anymore – as far as she was concerned, Kami Albarn was dead. She had arranged the attack on Death City and had taken part on injuring Soul; it was unforgivable.

"I would expect no less from Maka Albarn!" Shinigami sang happily. "You're one of Shibusen's best meisters, and despite only having one star, I believe you can handle it."

"Thank you, Shinigami-sama!" Maka exclaimed excitedly. Where things really this easy? It seemed too good to be true.

"…Once you retrieve ninety-nine Kishin egg souls, that is," Shinigami continued, seemingly unaware that Maka had cut him off.

"Are you kidding me?" Soul interjected. "That'll take years! If you say Maka can handle it, why do we have to get so many Kishin egg souls?"

"So you can easily become a Death Scythe for me!"

"Isn't that a bit selfish?" Soul asked as he quirked an eyebrow. Maka's face was still frozen in shock.

"No, just wishful thinking," Shinigami sighed. "I suppose I could make an exception. You'll begin training with Sid-sensei and Stein-kun with a few other kids in a few days. I'll call you when I know for sure! I'm glad you two are okay, a death of a Shibusen student is never something I want to endure. Well, that's it! Thank you for stopping by for a visit, Maka-chan!"

"Y-yeah," Maka stumbled, not sure what had just happened. It was a little uncomforting that Shinigami changed his mind so easily… "Thank you for having us, Shinigami-sama."

The partners left in somewhat of a daze, not sure what exactly had just happened. Did they still have to gather ninety-nine Kishin egg souls in order to join the team that was stopping Kami, or was the training some sort of introduction?

"Say, Soul?" Maka said softly as they closed the doors to the Death Room. "Don't you think that everything was arranged a little quickly?"

"Yeah," Soul agreed with a nod. "Do you think that he already decided to put us on a team before we even showed up?"

"It's possible." Maka smiled a little, letting out a long sigh. "Man, my chest feels so much lighter now!"

"Hard to believe it felt heavy before," Soul muttered teasingly, purposely making his voice loud enough for her to hear.

"Just because you're injured doesn't mean I'll think twice about hurting you!" Maka exclaimed with a huff, subconsciously folding her arms in front of her chest. True, she wasn't as big as most girls in that area, but she was sure she would grow in due time. She was only fourteen, after all. "There are more areas then your stupid chest to kick."

Soul laughed and playfully shoved his best friend, causing them both to stumble a bit. He tried to keep his face straight and pain free – once again, he had forgotten that whenever he moved his arms, pain would ignite in his entire body – but he failed. His knees let out from under him and he fell to the ground, skidding a few inches on the slick floor before stopping face down.

"Soul!" Maka called out worriedly as she rushed over to him. She carefully helped him sit up so his scar area was buffered from the blow a little. He brushed her hand off.

"I got it." He was a little cold. He stood up with a grunt and brushed off his red pants and sighed. "This is so not cool."

"Let's go home," Maka suggested as she pursed her lips. She didn't want him to be standing up for much longer – he needed to rest – but she didn't want to make it seem like she was doting on him. She knew that later he would be asking her to do every little thing for him, so she was going to take the small break he was giving her.

They stopped by the infirmary, thanking Stein for his hard work and gathering up their things. Maka noticed that they hadn't opened presents from Tsubaki and Black Star yet. They would have to do that soon and thank the weapon and meister.

The walk home was short, thankfully, and not as cold as Maka feared. Soul didn't think twice about making a side comment about his bike being broken, which Maka ignored with ease. It was his fault for endangering her like that by doing such crazy things – her subconscious was just trying to protect her by using magic to de-wheel the motorcycle.

When they arrived at the apartment complex, Maka was surprised to see Kim standing outside of the door. She was leaned up against the frame, so Maka assumed that the pink haired technician hadn't been waiting for too long.

"Yo," Maka greeted as she forced a smile. She hadn't seen her friend since the dance, so she wasn't aware of everything that had happened in the past day.

"Yo," Kim responded with a smile that was just as fake as her friends. "Can I talk to you in private?"

"Uh, sure." Maka handed Soul the bag of things and opened the door. Soul entered silently, leaving the door open for the other two to enter. He walked to his room and shut the door without a word.

"What's up?" she asked curiously as she plopped down on the couch, motioning for her friend to follow suit. Kim shook her head and stood directly in front of Maka.

"No thanks, I'm good." She paused for a few beats. Her eyes narrowed with determination. "Look, Maka, I know you're a witch."

Maka stopped breathing in shock, not knowing how to respond at Kim's blunt, straight forward statement.

"H-how?" Maka stumbled finally, growing a little afraid. She was too stunned to even think about denying anything. Was Kim going to rebuke her because of what she was? Was she going to do something worse – like finish her off? The room spiraled wildly as Maka imagined different scenarios.

None of which were what actually happened, of course.

"There's a lot of talk about you and Soul over at the witch's council." Kim informed as she folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Witch's council? What is that?" Maka asked slowly, not sure what Kim was implying.

"I should be getting paid for this," Kim sighed as she uncrossed her arms and walked over to the couch, deciding to sit next to her friend after all. "A witch's council is a meeting for all witches in a general area. For our area Carson City is the spot of the meeting, which I'm sure you know since you grew up there, after all. What happens there is debriefing about plans – big and small – and mostly complaining about Shibusen… Anyone who isn't a witch can't enter, of course, with a few exceptions."

"Then how…?"

"Sometimes you are pretty stupid, Maka," Kim teased lightly. "I'm a witch."

"Eh?" Maka nearly shouted as she stood up. "Since when? How come you never told me?"

"Since always…" Kim said slowly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world – which it actually should have been. "I never told you because I didn't find out that you were a witch until last night. I had no idea that Kami was your mother…"

"You know my mom?" Maka froze and really looked at her friend for what felt like the first time. It might as well have been since she knew such a large piece of information. She wanted to ask Kim so many questions, but none of them seemed too important just then.

"I know _of_ her," the pink haired witch clarified. "There isn't a witch who doesn't. But that's not the point. Entirely, anyway. You and Soul aren't exactly being ignored any more. All witches within a two hundred mile radius know about what happened last night – they know about you. Most of them don't care, but there are some that do… Those should be the ones to be afraid of, Maka."

"Eruka," Maka mumbled stupidly, not knowing what else to say.

"Eruka? Don't worry about her – she's nothing compared to others. She was barely worth fighting, although I heard that you kicked some major ass."

"But why would they care about what Soul and I did? Eruka came in our city limits and it's my duty to make sure she knows what she did was wrong. They should understand that." Maka didn't know why she was defending herself, but she was desperately searching for words to do so. She didn't like the idea of a group of witches being angry with her at all.

"They care because you're a witch attacking witches and you're open about it… They don't take too kindly to treason it seems." Kim frowned and darted her eyes away from Maka's green ones. "That's why I keep who I am a secret from everybody – except Jackie. I've seen what happens to… people like us and it isn't pretty. "

"But where does Soul come into this?" Maka asked, growing a little angry. Kim seemed to think that Maka only cared about herself in this situation but in reality, the only person she was worried about was her partner. She could take care of herself easily. "Why are they bringing his name up?"

"Because he's your weapon," Kim blinked. Weren't these answers obvious? "He helped you. Anyone who helps you is an enemy to them, Maka."

Maka was silent for a long time as she digested what Kim had just informed her. She mulled over that Kim was a witch hiding her identity just like she was, though she was sure Kim was more of a witch than she. She thought about how Eruka is apparently nothing compared to other witches who hate Maka – it scared her a little since she considered Eruka powerful.

Most of all, Maka thought of the same feared witches that hated her also hated Soul, and they were after him as well. No matter what she did, it seemed that she was always putting her partner into harms way. It frustrated her and made her feel helpless beyond all belief.

"So Maka and I are on some wanted list for witches?" a voice said from the hallway. Maka looked up sharply to see Soul leaned against the wall wearing a smirk. "Cool."

Kim gasped and whirled around; it was apparent that she wasn't pleased to find Soul eavesdropping on her conversation with Maka. Didn't she specify that it'd be private? Now Soul also knew her secret… Then who else would find out?

"Relax," Soul cautioned, reading Kim's clear horror. "I'm not going to say anything about you. I've kept Maka's secret all this time, haven't I?"

"Yeah, you're right." Kim breathed a sigh of relief. If Maka could trust Soul with so much, then she supposed she would just have to as well. "How are you anyway? I heard the attack was pretty vicious."

"Just peachy," Soul lied with a wince. Just_ peachy_? Could he have said anything else so out of character? He avoided Maka's hard gaze that was boring a hole into his head at all costs, knowing that she caught his terrible lie. Kim seemed to believe it, though.

"You're such a liar," Maka nearly spat.

"Well, that's all I stopped by for," Kim said awkwardly as the atmosphere around her grew thick with tension. "I really hope you understand what you two are up against…"

"Yeah." Suddenly, Maka didn't sound so angry anymore. Her voice was laced with sadness. It confused Soul to no end – why was she always like this? Women were so complicated. "Yeah, I understand."

Kim said goodbye quickly, giving Soul one last look that clearly read if anyone found out her secret, she would have no problem dragging his sorry ass to Carson City and killing him. She shut the door silently behind her and walked quickly away, not wanting to hear the argument that was sure to come.

"Just peachy." Maka mocked as she glared at her bare thighs, bunching her red plaid skirt in her hands. "You're an awful liar."

"So I'm in a little pain; no big deal. We went over this." Soul said coolly as his eyes looked everywhere but his partner.

"No big deal? How is this no big deal?" Maka looked up from her legs suddenly and jumped up, practically running over to where Soul was standing. He looked at her in surprise as she ran her hand lightly down his thin white shirt, tracing his scar. "I can feel the magic oozing off of you from across the room. You're an enemy of a dozen witches! How is any of this not a big deal?"

"You're freaking about nothing, chill out." Soul swatted her wandering hand away from his chest and angled his body so that it was no longer facing her. "If they're facing us, they'll definitely lose."

"You're an idiot."

"You're too uptight."

They continued exchanging insults for a few more minutes until they were both smiling. It was only temporary, but in that moment, Maka felt carefree like she did a few days ago. Before everything went wrong. It didn't seem fair to her that she had to endure so much, and it definitely wasn't fair that Soul had to be dragged down to hell with her.

"You know, Soul, being my partner isn't exactly the most ideal thing," Maka said slowly. "You have to protect me from everything because I'm so weak and now you're thrown into this stupid witch hunt. Do you ever think that it would be easier to be with someone else?"

Soul peered at his best friend curiously. "What's with you all of a sudden? You're asking weird questions."

"Just answer me."

"No." Soul replied without even a thought. "Being your weapon isn't so hard. It helps that you don't have any sex appeal so I'm not attracted to you. That would make things really difficult. But, thankfully, the only thing about you is that you're a witch."

"Okay, I get it!" Maka shouted with an annoyed huff.

Soul grinned and shrugged before allowing his face to grow a bit more solemn.

"You know, Maka, because I'm your weapon, wherever you go I go."

"What are you trying to say?" she replied curiously, drawing her eyebrows together.

Soul shrugged again and walked lazily over to the couch and flopped down, grabbing the remote. He turned on the TV and flipped through a few channels before turning to the meister.

"I'm saying don't you think about running off to protect me or some totally uncool bullshit like that. I'll find you. We're going through this stuff together."


	6. Chapter 6 SPECIAL

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater

**A/N:** I have the best reviewers in the world. Seriously! This chapter is mildly confusing on purpose at first, but everything will straighten out sooner than you think!

This is a special since it doesn't connect to the last chapter at all (which is why it's up early). It holds some important information about the book Kami gave Maka. I hope it makes up for the short chapter last time!

* * *

Maka felt like she was having a staring contest with the book her mother had given her and was losing terribly. She hadn't touched it since the night she got it, but now she was so tempted to just peek inside the cover and see its secrets. She slowly stretched out her arm and picked the large book up with ease, remembering how light it was, and sat it on her bed, eyeing the single word scrawled on the cover suspiciously.

_Potestas._

She flipped open the book to a random page and curiously scanned it, disappointed when she found that it was all in Latin. She read the words in her head, understanding only somewhat from the spells her mother taught her when she was younger.

"When you get more mature, puppy, you won't have to say these hard words," Kami had explained lovingly as her eight year old daughter pouted. "You can make words up to sound fancy, or you don't have to use words at all!"

She brought her knees up to her chest and tucked her chin between her legs and scanned a few more pages, looking for familiar words and only spotting two out of three pages. She said a line in her head and shrugged, how dangerous could a book actually be?

"Decumbo abeo improbus somnium." Maka said the words out loud and held her breath, not knowing what to expect to come out of it.

Her clock was the only thing making noise in her room, the soft clicks echoing through her mind. If she listened closely, she could hear Soul's snoring in the next room over. The kitchen sink was leaking, causing drips of water to fall periodically. The soft sounds joined together and acted as her lullaby, roaring like an ocean in her ears. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

She didn't know how long she had been sleeping when she heard it. It was just a small creak, barely noticeable, but for some reason Maka's eyes flew open. Here eyes trained hard on the book that still lay open on her bed. Someone was in her room and they weren't trying to mask their presence at all.

Maka's heart pounded hard in her ears as thousands of scary faces flipped through her mind. Was it one of the witches Kim had warned her about? Did they come to teach her a lesson? Or worse… kill her? She was defenseless without Soul.

Taking a deep breath, Maka sat up quickly, gathering up enough courage to look at the intruder. The two stared at each other for a few beats in silence before Maka found her voice.

"W-who are you?" she stuttered to the outline of the person standing at the foot of her bed. The stranger looked around her size, maybe a bit taller. They were masked completely in the shadows. "What do you want?"

Slowly, the figure moved into the moonlight, showing its face.

Maka was staring at a mirror image of herself.

The other Maka's face was twisted into a sick smile and her eyes were wide with insanity. A small giggle rumbled in her chest.

"Your soul would be so nice, but she said I wasn't allowed. They need you. She needs you. More than him. I'm here to replace you." The imposter's voice sounded boyish at first, but it soon molded itself to sound exactly like Maka.

Maka's chest was tight. This had to be a dream. This was too weird and confusing to be actually happening. She closed her eyes tightly and counted to five, praying that when they opened she would be alone in her room, preferably in the morning.

Before she could open her eyes, she felt her body being yanked violently. Her eyes opened in surprise and a scream caught in her throat. She was only able to emit a small squeak before a soft hand covered her mouth and dragged her out of the window.

Maka closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable collision with the sidewalk a few stories down, but it never came. She opened her eyes and looked around to find that she was hovering outside of her window, watching the other Maka look into the mirror and laugh at her reflection, pulling hard on the sandy pigtails.

"What is going on?" Maka asked feverishly as her eyes widened. "Why is there another me in there? Who is it?"

"You were always the one to ask questions that didn't matter," a honey thick voice purred in her ear. Maka was suddenly aware that she was in the arms of someone. "The real question is, my puppy, what do you plan to do about it?"

Maka froze at the voice. Her skin burned where her mother grasped her and held her in the air, saving her from the doom that lay below. Somehow, she still didn't feel safe.

"Mama… What is happening?" Maka asked as she squirmed in the witch's arms. "Why is someone in there who looks like me?"

She felt five years old again through and through. She looked down at her hands and gasped – she even looked five again. For the first time in years, she trusted her mother with everything. She was no longer squirming to get free, but to look right at her mother's loving face.

"Because you're useless, you silly girl," Kami whispered. Before her daughter could respond, she snaked her arms from around Maka and released her grasp.

Maka stared emotionless at her mother's wicked smile as she fell down, down, down…

With a gasp, Maka flew up and looked around her room nervously, checking for an insane look alike. Not seeing one, she decided that it had been a dream after all. She fell back on her pillow, realizing she had fallen asleep in the uncomfortable position she was reading the book in. She breathed deeply in attempt to calm her heaving chest and smiled to herself. It was just a silly nightmare.

With another sigh, she allowed herself to fall asleep.

The laughing sun was the next thing that woke her up. Slowly she sat up and peered out the window she had dreamed her mother drug her out of, looking up at the sun's laughing face. She closed her eyes and allowed the rays to touch her face with their warm fingers.

She got up and got dressed, enjoying the absolute silence. Part of her wished it was this quite last night when she was trying to go to bed – maybe she wouldn't have had that strange dream if she wasn't driven to read that stupid book her mother gave her. Nothing even happened when she said the spell – unless it was a spell to have stupid dreams that scared her.

She stepped out of her room and walked the few steps over to Soul's door to wake him up, but he his low voice. How was it that he woke up before her? It was strange… Maybe he didn't sleep as well as Maka had suspected last night. She raised her fist to knock on his door and ask him what he wanted for breakfast since it was her turn to cook, but his words stopped her mid knock.

"…Maka is really growing old, man. I thought being her partner would be an easy way out of things since she's so smart, but everything is too much a hassle. It's not worth it anymore."

Maka blinked as she stared wide eyed at the light orange door in front of her. Where her ears betraying her? Soul had been so supportive last night; why had he suddenly changed his mind? Why were his words so full of passionate hate? She racked her brain in order to think of something she might have done wrong, but she couldn't think of anything…

Soul's door opened and his eyes widened slightly when he saw that his meister was standing at his door with her fist raised. His expression slacked and turned back to his normal lazy form as he shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his red pants.

"Did you hear that?" he asked nonchalantly, his face not showing whether or not he cared.

"No…" Maka lied. Badly. But her partner didn't seem to notice as he pushed past her and eased his way to the kitchen, plopping down on one of the bar stools as he waited for his food.

She stomped over to the kitchen and opened the cabinet door with haste, not caring if she did any damage. Stupid Soul. She grabbed a green bowl angrily and slammed it down in front of her. Stupid, lying Soul. She stomped over to the fridge and ripped it open, grabbing the milk jug and opening it like it owed her money. Stupid, lying, backstabbing Soul. She poured the milk in her bowl sloppily, not giving the drops that sloshed out a second glance. Stupid, lying, backstabbing, bastard Soul. She picked up the bowl and slammed it down hard in front of her partner, watching happily as some milk got onto his lap.

"Uh, I think you forgot the food?" Soul's voice was lazy, as if the same mouth didn't utter the words Maka had heard before.

"You're lucky I don't chop you up and use you as hamburger meat," Maka snapped, turning on her heel and reaching into the still open fridge. She grabbed an orange and slammed the door shut hard, listening to it shake hard enough for some magnets to fall off. She grabbed a knife and mutilated her fruit, no longer thinking of eating it.

"What's your deal? Besides, you shouldn't be talking to me that way." Soul shrugged and leaned on his arms that were propped up on the table. "Don't you owe me?"

Maka froze and looked at her partner with curious eyes. Owe him? For what? He was talking about how she made his life difficult after he promised her last night that she didn't! Truth be told, her anger was just a way of displaying her hurt feelings. She felt a little shameful, too.

"Why do I owe you?" she snapped as she crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest.

Without a word, Soul traced a diagonal line that ran across his chest with a sly smile. Maka's breath caught in her chest as she stared at him in guilty silence. She hung her head in defeat and grabbed his favorite cereal.

"Good girl," he teased, holding out his bowl of milk. "Not too much, though."

* * *

Maka glared at Soul harshly as he snored during Sid-sensei's teaching. She took the sharp end of her pencil and jabbed him hard in his shoulder.

"Hey," she hissed. "Wake up. I'm not sharing my notes with you today."

"Why not?" He mumbled. "Don't I deserve some sort of reward?"

"For what?" Maka snapped, slamming her hands down angrily on the table. She glanced at Sid-sensei out of the corner of her eyes to see if he was looking at her, but he continued teaching as if he didn't mind.

"Didn't I save your life?" Soul asked innocently, giving his chest a small pat. Maka expected him to wince, but his face remained calm.

She relaxed her shoulders and slumped down miserably with the reminder. She hated that Soul was milking his injury to the extremes, she hated that he was growing tired of being her partner, and she hated that she had been the one to cause his pain in the first place. Even though she knew it was low and selfish of him, she felt that she deserved it.

But there was something that bothered her about the way Soul was acting.

"What's your problem?" she asked curiously, concern laced in her voice. "I overheard you this morning… Who were you talking to?"

"Hm? Oh, that. I'll explain later. Shut up so I can sleep."

Maka sighed and continued to take notes of the class she swore she had learned before. She glanced at the door compulsively, waiting for Tsubaki to walk in so she could send her an angry note venting about her stupid partner. But neither she nor Black Star showed up the class, leaving Maka feeling alone even while she was sitting next to Soul.

The fact that she was sitting next to her partner made her feel worse, if not more lonely then she already was. Why was he acting in such a strange way?

When the final bell rang, she packed her stuff and left without waiting for Soul, still fuming over his words. She tried to pick out a particular one she was mad at him for, but she couldn't. Every single thing that he had said to her today was deliberately hurtful and wrong. How could this be the same person she'd lived with for a year and a half?

When she stepped out of the classroom, she breathed a sigh of relief to see Tsubaki and Black Star standing on the opposite side of the hallway and looking up at the board of missions. She made her way over and tapped Tsubaki on the shoulder and smiled happily, giving a small wave.

"Oh! Maka…" Tsubaki's face turned a light pink and she ducked her head. Maka noticed that she was wringing her hands nervously. Black Star looked up at the mission board and continued to laugh obnoxiously at seemingly nothing, ignoring his partner's pokes.

"Do you want to go get lunch?" Maka asked a little sadly, still upset over Soul's comments. "I need to talk to you."

"I would like to talk to you, as well," Tsubaki said slowly, and then shook her head. "I don't want lunch, Black Star and I ate already. Can we step to the side?"

Maka nodded and led her friend over to a deserted hallway that had always been there, despite it being a dead end. She turned on her heel and faced the shadow weapon curiously, wondering what could be bothering her.

"Maka… I've been thinking about what you told me the other day," Tsubaki admitted sheepishly, still wringing her hands. "I've decided that I… I can't be friends with someone who is apart of the enemy."

It was quick, like ripping a Band-Aid off, but it didn't hurt any less.

At first, Maka was silent. She blinked a few times, not sure what to say. What could she say?

_I understand. Sorry for being born a witch. I'll work harder to be a better person – it's not like I do anyways!_

"Tsubaki has a point," another voice said from behind the raven haired weapon, who was watching awkwardly as her ex-friend racked her brain for a reply. Black Star appeared from around the corner. He'd obviously been listening.

"W-what are you saying, Black Star?" Maka asked with her wide eyes. "You didn't have a problem with it before!"

"That's because my dream of becoming a god was still far away. But now its closer and I can't be bothered with the likes of you!" Black Star laughed and put his hands on his hips. "Come on, Tsubaki. We have a mission to do."

"Right." Tsubaki looked at Maka hard, her blue eyes filled with something that Maka couldn't decipher. She opened her mouth to say something, but instead it snapped shut and she shrugged. She turned on her heel and trailed after her partner, leaving Maka to stand alone. Again.

"Wait," Maka called weakly after her friends. "Please don't leave me."

She stumbled to chase after them, but she clumsily lost her footing and slipped, falling down hard on the floor. Not bothering to help herself up, she pressed her forehead against the wall and closed her eyes, praying for this to all be over. She wanted Black Star to come back, hit her hard on her head and say that it was all a joke – just payback from the times she had hurt him with her Maka Chops – and Tsubaki to apologize profusely, saying that she only went along with it for Black Star's sake.

But it never happened.

She briefly wondered what Soul had been doing this whole time. Had he gone up to Sid-sensei and asked to be removed as Maka's partner? He did have a pretty good reason, after all. He could simply say that he no longer felt comfortable with a witch who couldn't control her powers and everyone would understand. She would be shunned, ridiculed. She would flunk out of Shibusen forever and have no other choice but to fall into darkness.

"Oi, Maka," Soul's lazily called as his shadow covered her face, "you were just called to the Death Room."

Maka sat up finally off the dirty floor and looked up at her partner. His eyes moved around slowly, looking anywhere and everywhere other than on her. Her chest tightened once she saw his expression – was it relief?

She stood up without any help from Soul and started her lonely walk to the Death Room, not really caring why she was being called there. It wasn't until she reached the doors that she noticed Soul following her – his hands tucked deep inside of his yellow and black jacket and his shoes scuffing the floor.

She paused.

"Why are you wearing that jacket?" she asked curiously, her hand frozen mid knock on the large black doors.

"Huh? Don't I always?" he asked as he gave her a stupid look. "What's with you and you're moronic questions?"

"No… That jacket was ripped the shreds in the fight the other night. Why do you have it? I thought you told me that it was a custom, one of a kind!"

"Why does it matter, Maka? It's just a jacket. The way you're acting is crazy."

His words swarmed around in her mind as her head swam in confusion. She didn't deny his accusation, because she felt like she was going crazy. She could have sworn that she saw the jacket's remains – just hunks of torn fabric – but now it was in one piece and he was wearing it. Did she imagine it? Did she imagine everything?

Without another word, she opened the large doors to the Death Room and stepped inside, only to have her arms seized and restrained. Her panic raised and she struggled a little out of surprise, but then she saw that it was Stein and her father who held her. She didn't know what was going on, but for once, seeing her father made everything sort of okay. At least she knew he would never do anything to hurt her.

"Maka Albarn…" a figure standing in the place of Shinigami said with a slightly familiar voice. Pale purple hair fell down her back and on top of her polka dotted dress. Slowly, the girl turned around and smiled. "You've been condemned to a life of prison for your crimes, gecko."

* * *

Soul was used to sleeping in until after noon, it was what he did with ease on the weekends when Maka didn't pound heavily at his door, screaming at him to wake up or they'd be late to school. So when he woke up on a Monday morning to find that it was two in the afternoon, he became a bit worried. Especially when after he walked into her room, he saw her still sleeping face down in her bed over an open book.

What a nerd.

"Maka, come on," Soul grunted, moving his partner over in her bed. Her arms flopped almost lifelessly as he flipped her so he could see her face. "We're going to… What the…"

He expected to see her sleeping, stubborn face, but instead he was greeted with wide open, glossy eyes and a small insane small. He poked her curiously, wondering if she was just playing a stupid trick on him – no matter how out of character for it was. When his pokes didn't work, he grasped her shoulders and gave her a shake.

When that didn't work, he gave her another. And another.

"What the hell, Maka?" Soul mumbled as he let her go, watching as her body bounced back down on her bed without a response. Her eyes blinked, and she was breathing, but if he didn't know better, he would have considered her to be comatose, or dead.

His eyes drifted around her room until he spotted a large book lying open on her bed. He frowned and walked slowly over to it and scanned the page. His frowned deepened when he saw that it was in another language, one he didn't recognize, even with all the years of foreign language his mother forced him to take when he was younger.

"What did you do, idiot?" he muttered as he started to panic. He attempted to give his partner one more shake, but much like the other attempts, it failed.

He turned on his heels and rushed over to the phone, and wondered whose number he should call about this. He could call Black Star, but, even if he did bring Tsubaki, he would probably only make the situation worse. He would have called Shinigami, but he hadn't memorized the number – he only called him once, and it was written on a paper that he had already turned in to class.

Soul picked up and leafed through the small address book that hung on the wall and sighed. There was only one option, and he didn't have time to dwell on who he had to call. His fingers dialed the numbers quickly – he hoped he had gotten it right – and listened to the dialing tones impatiently. His partner was comatose in her room and he hadn't the slightest clue what was happening and it seemed other people were taking their sweet time with helping him.

"Hello? Maka-chan, is that you?" Spirit's voice sang happily as he answered the phone right when Soul was about to hang up.

"No," Soul said hastily, not caring to explain who it was. "Listen, Maka is… I don't know, to be honest, but something is wrong. I think it has something to do with magic, but she's not responding. So, I'd really like some help here. I'm about to lose my cool, and that just isn't—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, the front door to his apartment flew open with a bang. The red haired Death Scythe huffed heavily and looked around the room manically, his blue eyes wide as his chest heaved.

"What's wrong with Maka?" he shouted, entering the apartment without a formal invitation. "Where is she?"

"How did you… Never mind," Soul shook his head, ultimately deciding that it didn't really matter how Death Scythe had gotten here so quickly. "She's in her room."

Soul followed Maka's father quickly into his partner's room. He briefly wondered what she would say once she found out that he had allowed her father inside of her room, but then he shoved the thought away. It was pointless to the situation at hand.

"What is this?" Spirit asked accusingly as he pointed to the open book as he sent Soul a death glare. "Why did you let her read this? Did you buy it for her? Where did she get it?"

"I don't know!" Soul shouted, already overly annoyed with the protective father. "I thought that you would be able to help, but I'm no where closer to finding out what's wrong then when I found her! Don't you have someone you can call about this – an expert or something?"

He had lost his cool, he knew it, but Soul couldn't bring himself to care anymore. Something about the way Maka's eyes were so blank and empty scared him, and the smile didn't help much either. At first glance, she looked wide awake.

Spirit stopped flitting around his daughter's room in a meltdown and looked at the younger boy in front of him. Slowly, he nodded, and scanned the room for a mirror. He found one and walked over, scrawling in the number to the Death Room without a second thought.

"Spirit-kun!" Soul could hear Shinigami's cartoon like voice, but he didn't strain to see the death god. He was too busy studying Maka carefully. "Why are you calling from Maka-chan and Soul-kun's house?"

Spirit feverishly explained that something was wrong with Maka, and he had a feeling that it had something to do with the open book lying on her bed. Soul looked closely at the book as he did it and frowned; why did he feel like he's seen it before? He ran his calloused hand over the soft pages of the book and froze.

"This is a book of spells," he said automatically, not sure where he learned it. He was completely positive that he was right. "I don't know how I know, but I do."

"This is quite the situation! I would come there myself, but alas…" Shinigami trailed off regrettably.

"Can't you send Sid-sensei? He would know something!" Soul exclaimed with annoyance. "Send anyone!"

He picked up his partner's head and sat her in his lap, smacking her cheeks gently a few times. When there was no response, he grunted.

"Come on, Maka, you have to wake up now," he urged in a mutter. Maka's empty green eyes made him feel uncomfortable, so he looked away and frowned, directing his attention towards Death Scythe. "Is someone coming?"

"Yes…" Spirit turned away from the mirror and looked woefully at his daughter. "They're sending Sid and… Stein. The man who did secret experiments on me is allowed to do what pleases with my baby girl until she wakes up!" Tears were streaming down the man's face as he slumped to the ground in a heap of depression.

"Go away if you're going to act like that," Soul barked angrily. "I don't care who comes, as long as they help her."

The long minutes they spent alone were silent, give or take a few sniffles from Spirit. Soul rolled his eyes; how could a man act this way? It was so uncool, uncool couldn't even describe the way he was acting. If there wasn't a bigger issue at hand, he would have made a larger deal out of it.

Finally, a knock sounded at the front door.

"Oi, we're in here," Soul called, not wanting to move Maka from off of his lap.

Sid and Stein walked in the apartment quickly. Stein paused and shut the door that was open when he arrived, then quickly followed the other technician into the first room in the hallway. He looked at his ex-partner who was pathetically losing his mind – in his opinion, that was long overdue.

"This book…!" Sid exclaimed with his eyes wide. His dark skin paled considerably as he turned to look at Maka. His brown eyes made their way up to Soul. "Do you know where she got this?"

"No!" Soul exclaimed in aggravation. "What' the big deal about it?"

Sid carefully placed his large hand on the page to mark the spot and looked at the cover, confirming what he suspected.

"_Potestas,_" he muttered to himself. "It means power. This book is something I've only been able to study, but I know it's only a copy. Still… to have an exact copy in the hands of a Shibusen student?" He trailed off as he flipped back to the page and scanned it. "I wish I knew which spell she said."

"Are you saying that Maka did this to herself?" Soul asked in surprise. He then grew a little angry. "Why does this have to be her fault?"

"I don't mean accuse Maka, but it's obvious that she did it herself. I'm just looking at the facts – it's just the man I am," Sid explained with a frown.

"She's locked inside of her head."

Soul snapped his neck to look at Stein who hovered over him, staring a hole through his partner. Thankfully he wasn't smoking; it would take forever to get the smell of the cigarette out of the air.

"What? How can you tell?" Soul looked down at his best friend's blank expression. Though it sounded crazy, it seemed possible.

"I have Soul Perception that is on a different level then Maka's." was his simple reply He pushed his glasses up his nose, making the glare of the morning sun hid his left eye. "She's fully awake. Strange. This is definitely going to be an interesting experiment."

"You will not do that to my Maka!" Spirit shouted as he stood up and pointed an accusing finger at the doctor. "You may have cut me up as you pleased, but I won't allow you to do it to my daughter!"

"I see that you've adjusted well to having your hands on opposite sides," Stein replied coolly with a small smile, seemingly ignoring the Death Scythe's comment.

"Wh-what?!" Spirit's eyes opened wide in fear as he examined his hands carefully.

Stein laughed to himself and rolled his eyes, enjoying the scene in front of him more then he let on. Now that the overprotective father was out of the way, they could work on a conclusion to the issue.

"I think I know what spell she did then. It's a speaking spell that roughly translates to 'fall into and vanish inside my nightmare'," Sid explained as he turned his attention from the book and looked at Maka. "You're not supposed to use it unless you know the counter spell."

"I'd guess that Maka did not," Stein frowned as he observed the glossy eyed girl curiously. What was going on inside that head of hers? He itched to match his soul wavelength with her weak one and find out himself, but he knew that he shouldn't.

"So she's living out some nightmare? When will she snap out of it?" Soul asked as his eyebrows drew so close together they ached. His red eyes trained hard on his pajama clad best friend – what was she seeing right now?

"I don't know any other way besides the counter spell," Sid admitted with a frown. "I'm the kind of man who tries to know everything about a subject he's studying."

"There is another way," Stein interjected. "If Soul connects his wavelength with hers, he can easily enter Maka's mind."

"You mean like Soul Resonance?" Soul asked slowly. "Don't you have to have to corporation of both souls for that?"

"For beginners," Stein nodded. "But haven't you been practicing in Weaponry 101?"

"We can't," Soul sighed. "We have to do it outside of the city limits since Maka has to take her Soul Protection off. She doesn't like doing it."

"But you can do it, right?" Spirit shouted as he got in Soul's face. "Man up!"

"Yes, I can do it!" Soul snapped. "I've just never done it alone before, old man!"

"Just try," Stein suggested. "If you fail, I can always adjust my soul to match hers, but I don't think the results will be as effective."

Soul nodded and closed his eyes; he wasn't going to allow Stein to get inside of Maka's head even if it took him all night to perfect solo Soul Resonance. He took a deep breath and searched for his own soul first, a task that was accomplished with ease. He felt nice that it was bigger – stronger – than the last time he saw it before the battle with Eruka. Did the magic have some sort of effect on it?

He didn't have time to think about it right then. He had to look for Maka's soul, which would be difficult due to her Soul Protection and his lack of Soul Perception, but he knew he would find it. He felt the room with his soul, easily finding the massive souls of his elders. He knew Maka's would be much, much smaller. He felt around the room deeper, careful not to go too deep and completely miss it.

Finally, he found it. He creased his eyebrows – had her soul always been so small? What if the spell was completely destroying her from the inside out? What if he didn't have enough to perfect his Soul Resonance with Maka and had to forfeit her mind to Stein? To him, he had one shot, and he was going to make it work.

Slowly, he grabbed Maka's dim soul and brought it closer to his, generating inner static that vibrated with hiss blood. He smiled.

"Soul Resonance," he said forcefully, letting the souls go and hoping they would do their job and connect. A fire broke out inside of hi and he felt his arm involuntarily turn into a scythe blade. He had succeeded.

"Alright," Stein's voice echoed in Soul's mind. He felt so very far away from his body. "Make your way towards her dream. I can't tell you how; you'll just have to figure it out…"

His voice faded as Soul began to send himself deeper into Maka's mind. Somewhere far away, his body slumped almost lifelessly and he wondered if his eyes were open like hers. After a few moments of aimlessly wondering, he closed his eyes and felt around for where his partner's consciousness was hiding, finding it with ease thanks to the Soul Resonance.

When he opened his eyes, he was heavily confused.

"Maka's nightmare… is school?" he asked himself as he looked around the halls of Shibusen. They were completely empty, but he could hear people as if they were actually there. So what did Maka fear exactly? The ghost students of Shibusen?

He walked around slowly for a moment, listening to the voices of the unseen students. It took him a few minutes to realize what they were whispering to each other.

_Can you believe that Maka Albarn is a witch? _

_I heard she killed Soul Evans._

_No way! I heard she killed her own father!_

So many whispers of lies surrounded him; he had to stop moving for a second. Where was Maka if all of this was going on? He tuned out the excess noised and zoned in on her – she was directly below him. He glanced up at the classroom that was across the hall – wasn't the prison under here? Why would she be there?

Then he remembered that it was, after all, Maka's nightmare.

Soul broke out into a run as he searched for the stairs leading down into the cold prison cells. He knew that they were around this hall somewhere, he just didn't know where. Would Maka's Shibusen be true to the real one? He was sure he had passed the area where the stair well should be. How was he going to get to her?

"Maka!" he shouted, over powering the over whispers. "Maka, bring me to you now!"

His vision blurred considerably and when it cleared, he was no longer standing in the bright hallways of the academy. He was now standing in a cold, damp cell that was almost completely dark – the only light that was visible was trickling through a small eye hole on the door.

"Maka?" he asked curiously, wondering if she had just thrown him in here alone.

"Oh, look," Maka's voice giggled from the darkest corner of the cell, "Soul's back. Hi, Soul."

"What do you mean I'm back?" Soul asked as he stepped closer in the direction he heard the voice come from. "I just got here."

"You say that every time!" Maka shouted, her face entering the light. Soul paused, a little taken aback from the sight. She was bleeding from her temple – was it even her blood? – and her face was that of absolute insanity. Her eyes looked terrified, but a large, goofy smile was spread across her face making her look dazed.

Soul took a cautious step closer to his partner. Was this the real Maka? It didn't look like it. Was he even in the right place in her mind?

"Maka, did you say a spell?" Soul asked as he crouched down so that he was eye level with the girl who had the same body as his best friend. He was still wary about this, but it was the only way to find out.

"Spell? I've said a lot of spells," Maka replied, her eyes staring right through Soul. "Most of them killed you, but you keep coming back."

"Killed me? Oi, Maka, stop playing around. We need to get you out of here so you can wake up. You're just dreaming, alright?" He reached out to grab her shoulders, but she shrank back as far as she could, nearly collapsing her bones against the wall.

"For the past five days you've been telling me this isn't a dream, and that I've gone crazy. I've watched you die so many times! Why do you keep coming back?" she screeched with a small giggle. Her head hung low so that Soul wasn't able to see her expression, but he wasn't going to complain. It freaked him out.

"Maka, you haven't killed me. You locked yourself inside your nightmare by saying some stupid spell!" He ran his hand through his hair and absently noticed he forgot to wear his trademark headband. "This is so uncool…"

Maka's head snapped up and she peered at him for the first time since he arrived in the cell with her curiously. Her eyes desperately searched him, looking for something, but Soul couldn't tell what it was. He was just glad that there was finally some clarity in her eyes.

"Your jacket," she mumbled, reaching out slowly to touch the black leather that clung to his skin.

"Huh? Yeah, it's the jacket you gave to me for Christmas. Maka, you're not making any sense." He felt like if he didn't say her name enough times, she would forget it herself.

"You're the one not making sense!" she accused with a glare. "I don't know what's happening anymore! You tell me that I'm crazy and now you're telling me I'm okay? Is that what you're telling me…? I don't know."

"What I'm telling you is that you're stuck inside your nightmare. All this stuff that's happening? It isn't real. The only real thing here is you and me, and we've got to get out of here, okay? This place isn't cool, Maka." Why was she so incoherent?

"Cool," she repeated slowly. "Cool. What's cool, Soul? Do you want to see something cool? I can kill you with just a few words. Isn't that cool?"

"Maka!" he barked, finally reaching out and grabbing her shoulders. He gave her a little shake, noticing how she recoiled under his touch. Her eyes shrunk in realization momentarily before he shook his head and proceeded to hold onto her. "You're not listening to me, and it's starting to piss me off."

"You're different from before," she pointed out, ignoring his comment. "You're almost like you were before the attack."

"That's because I'm still me, idiot," Soul growled. "The 'me' you've been seeing is a lie. Your nightmare. You have to feel our souls together, right? I did Soul Resonance for us."

Maka put her hands over her ears and shook her head. She was so confused that her sanity was slipping from her weak grasp. She knew that she killed Soul – she was still sane when she did it. He had called her a witch. He had said she was crazy. He told her he hated her. Then he tried to kill her, saying that it was better that way. Everyone around her was acting so strange – was this the true colors of her friends, or was it all fake?

"This is a dream," Soul convinced, giving her shoulders a squeeze. There was a sense of urgency in his red eyes that called to Maka. "This is a nightmare. Everything that happened before isn't real – this place isn't real!"

Maka's eyes cleared a little has her body slumped helplessly. She hadn't meant to kill Soul the first time – she was defending herself out of fear – but it made the other times easier. However, there was something about him now that stood out. He was wearing his present now, not his torn jacket, and he was acting more like himself. Was what he was saying before true? Was this just a dream?

If so, she was crazier then she thought.

"A crazy person never thinks they're crazy," Soul replied with a smile. Had she said that aloud? She smiled despite herself.

"Come on, Maka, just wake up. That's all you have to do," Soul coaxed. Maka blinked in silence – her occasional giggles had stopped as the clouds in her thoughts disappeared.

"Right…"

Suddenly, the door to her cell burst open. Soul jumped in surprise – if this was Maka's dream, couldn't she control things here? Was it different in a nightmare? He blinked in the light that flooded in as his eyes adjusted. When his vision cleared, he was staring face to face with someone who looked eerily like him.

The figure before him was wearing the jacket that had gotten destroyed in the battle against Eruka, and the headband that he normally wore with it. His hair was a bit darker than Soul's – instead of white, it was a light gray – and his red pants were looser. It was just a cheap knock off, and it pissed him off.

"So this is how you see me?" Soul asked with a tight, yet still teasing smile. He rolled his eyes and glanced at Maka. "Lets – oi, are you alright?"

Maka's eyes were wide as they darted back and forth between the people in front of her. Her smile came back slightly as a conflicted giggle escaped her lips. Her mind began to cloud over again as she looked at the two Souls.

"Did you know you had a twin?" she asked. "I didn't!"

"I don't have a twin!" Soul exclaimed with aggravation. "He's not real!"

"He's the one who isn't real, Maka," the imposter said coolly with a shrug, unfazed by the accusations. "If you don't believe me, that's fine."

Soul blinked slowly – was this really how Maka thought he acted? He wasn't aware that his coolness was so… obnoxious.

"You're trying too hard," Soul said, crossing his arms, turning his back on the other Soul and looking straight at Maka, who was quietly observing the situation with curious eyes. Her face was completely blank. "A cool guy like me is just naturally that way. Besides, that jacket is stupid."

"Maka chop!"

"What the hell?" Soul shouted as he held his head, surprised that is still hurt despite it being in a dream. "What was that for?"

"Just checking something," Maka's voice was almost back to normal, minus the shaking. "Only the real Soul would curse at a crazy person."

Soul looked at his partner and flashed his sharp smile. He held out his hand to beckon his almost sane best friend to leave the place with him, but he was interrupted.

"You think you can leave so easily?" the dream Soul shouted as his skin rippled. What stood before them morphed into a large mass of blackness; it had no given shape, nor face. "You're sadly mistaken. Maka Albarn, you said the charm, and now you must deal with it."

"Charm?" Maka asked in confusion. Her hands flew up to her ears and she winced as if she was hearing something unbearable. "I don't know what you're talking about! I don't know what either of you are talking about!"

"What the hell are you doing to her?" Soul accused the massive black blob as he took a step closer.

"I'm keeping her where she belongs," the black mass gurgled. "She desires to be inside of her head, so that is where she shall stay."

"How do you know what she wants?" Soul shouted as he backed up again, reaching for his partner. His fingers only grabbed air. He blinked a few times and noticed that they were no longer in the cell, but in a plain white room that was bright enough to blind him momentarily. Why hadn't he noticed? He looked around for Maka and found her sitting on the ground looking up at him in fear.

"Don't you see? She wants you gone." The blackness' body contorted and stretched an arm like part of itself and wrapped around Soul. Slowly, the walls began to close around him. "She wouldn't have said the spell if she didn't want this."

* * *

"Hasn't it been too long?" Spirit flitted around the room nervously as the three adults awaited for Soul and Maka's return. It had been an hour already, and by the looks of Maka's empty expression, it might be longer. "Go in there, Stein!"

"Are you giving me permission to go inside your daughter's mind, Spirit-senpai?" Stein questioned with raising an eyebrow. He shrugged. "I would if I could, but I can't since her soul is otherwise occupied. We'll just have to wait until Soul does what he has to." He turned away from the red headed Death Scythe and faced Sid, who was hunched over the spell book. "You've been silent for a while, Sid. What have you found out?"

"This spell that Maka said – that we think she said – well, it's more than I thought. She didn't just lock herself inside of her worst nightmare, she set free something that would magnify it. I'm not too clear on what exactly it is, but it's the guardian of this spell," Sid explained slowly, showing a picture of a cloaked black figure that was messily sketched in the margin of the book.

"Do spells usually have guardians?" Stein asked, his interest peaked. He reached for the book, but Sid brought it back to his chest before it could be taken.

"Only strong ones," Sid replied with a small frown. "I don't really understand it, but it seems like he controls everything that happens instead of Maka."

"Interesting," Stein muttered, looking back at the young partners that were collapsed on the bed together, both of them raging a war inside of Maka's mind. The new information changed quite a lot of things – a new variable was added to the experiment.

"So what does this mean?" Spirit asked in a wail.

"If Soul doesn't defeat the guardian – or even figure out it exists – neither will ever wake up," Stein said as he pushed his glasses up his nose before shoving his hands down in his pockets.

"Maka-chan!" Spirit cried out hysterically as he gripped his daughter's shoulders and gave them a hard shake. He then let her go and turned to Soul, doing the same for him, only multiple times, and a little more violently. "If you don't rescue my cute daughter, I'll kill you!"

"How do you think Maka got a hold of this book?" Stein asked as he ignored his ex partner's freak out, turning towards Sid once again.

"Well, Kami did come and visit her – or so I was told – so there's always the chance that it was gifted to her and she was curious. Then there's the possibility that she wanted this," Sid said slowly, careful not to anger the Death Scythe – he was already acting crazy.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see then, yeah?" Stein said with a small frown, wondering what the outcome would be. His eyes moved over to the Death Scythe who had given up on beating on Soul's almost lifeless body and turned to standing solemnly. He felt an ounce of pity for the father, but he couldn't relate.

Despite himself, he wished that the two children would hurry up as well. This was a rare experiment where he was biased on the outcome, and he wanted it to be a good one.

* * *

"Gah, Maka," Soul shouted to his partner over the thick blackness that was coming closer to him faster then ever. "I'm so screwed if you don't snap out of it now!"

His vision of Maka was slowly getting cut off by the monster's body that was trying to engulf him but he forced his eyes to stay trained on his partner as he desperately sought to get her attention. His mind raced. What was going to happen to her once he was swallowed whole? What was going to happen to him?

"Maka, you idiot, you don't have time to just sit around!" he continued to shout as he tried to make himself as small as possible. He was running out of time and Maka was still sitting on the ground with a blank face, as if she didn't hear or see anything that was happening.

"Fool!" the black mass laughed. "Do you not know who I am? I am the keeper of dreams and nightmares. I have no name because nothing can define me. Nothing can stop me. Don't you think that if I wanted her to keep that daze she would? Do you really not know how easy it is to control someone as weak as her? This is nothing; I'm barely using any strength to do it."

"You're underestimating her," Soul growled as he felt his right arm be taken in the darkness. It felt warm and thick, like summer air. "I broke her out once, I can do it again, bastard!" His voice turned to Maka and he desperately began to repeat her name over and over as more of his body was consumed. Maka, however, remained unfazed.

"Pathetic." The Keeper's words were spat out in annoyance as he wrapped more of himself around the struggling boy. Finally, he only had Soul's head and right arm to swallow before the nuisance was done for.

"Wake up, you damn stupid woman!" Soul shouted at the top of his lungs just as his entire skull was sunken into the black abyss, disappearing in the warm blackness. Slowly, he felt his arm follow, and then his hand. He was entirely absorbed. The cool Soul Evans had been beaten by an imaginary monster without even saving his best friend.

"Absolutely pathetic."

Breathing was becoming hard in the hot atmosphere. Even though he was already engulfed, he felt it tighten around him so where he couldn't even use his scythe blade. His eyes stung so he closed them tight and tried his best to figure a way out of the monster. He moved forward in the thickness, but it seemed never ending.

Suddenly, a burst of light shone through his eyelids and he forced his crimson eyes open. There, hovering in a small hole that wasn't black was an outstretched hand that led up to Maka's smiling face. Soul grinned as he clasped her hand tightly and allowed her to drag him out of the thick nothingness, falling hard on the ground.

"Soul, I –"

"I'll yell at you later," he interrupted, his attention turning towards the Keeper as he stood. "We have bigger things to handle right now."

"Yeah," she replied, giving her partner a small apologetic smile. "Let's go."

Soul turned into a scythe, but it wasn't his normal form. He was confused for a moment as his Witch Hunter blade grew before he remembered that he had done solo Soul Resonance. Maka didn't seem to notice – had she already figured it out? That or she didn't care.

"You think that because you pulled him out you can defeat me?" the Keeper shouted angrily.

Soul's reflection smiled. It was obvious that they had shown more than what was expected and it caught him off guard. Before, the massive blob showed little to no emotion, but now it was oozing out of him.

"What is this, Soul?" Maka hesitated slightly, tightening her grip on Soul's handle. "How do we beat it?"

"I don't know," Soul replied as he looked up at his partner through the eye of the scythe. "It doesn't matter; just do whatever to it until it leaves."

"Sounds fair enough," Maka smiled and lowered her knees so that she could jump and get a good hit on whatever the mass was. She pushed off and flew through the air, swinging the scythe hard.

Maka saw the black entity split where the crackling blade was supposed to come in contact with the Keeper's body. She grunted and swung again, only seeing the same results. She swung again and again, screaming in aggravation, but each and every time, her destined place folded into itself, giving her nothing more than air.

"Coward!" She shouted as she swung Soul once more. When she hit the ground this time, she stayed there, her green eyes searching for a weak point.

"You're more persistent then I originally thought, but just as naïve. Don't you know you can't kill a guardian? You have to say the banishing spell to make me leave," the mass emitted a gurgling sound Soul guessed was laughter.

"What the hell is the banishing spell?" Maka asked as her eyebrows narrowed. She was so confused with where she was and what exactly she had been doing to get there and it didn't look like anyone was going to fill her in.

"It's the counter spell of the one you originally said. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt and supposing it was an accident – no one would be so stupid to purposely set me free inside their mind without the banishing spell," the Keeper replied in a monotone voice.

"I'm inside my mind?" Maka asked slowly, looking at the ground as if she expected it to give her the answers. The blindingly white room seemed familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"You're locked inside your nightmare," Soul replied hastily. He was itching to defeat this thing and leave – he had spent far too much time in here for his liking. "I don't know how, so don't ask me, but we found an open book of spells on your bed and you were lying on it unconscious. Stein, Sid, and your stupid father are waiting for us, so we need to hurry."

"That spell was…?" Maka felt her face flush in embarrassment. "I didn't think it was a big deal."

"What you were thinking when you did it doesn't matter now," Soul urged as he eyed the Keeper who was suspiciously still. "We need to get out of here."

"Right," Maka agreed as she regained composure. She was sick of talking in circles. "Since this is my mind, I have full control."

Her eyes scanned the monster in front of her as she looked for some sort of obvious weak point. The chances were slim, but they were still there. Her eyes drifted up the mass as she calculated in her head what had happened before. She went high first and he easily moved into himself, dodging all of her blows. But if she went lower this time…

It was worth a shot.

With a burst of energy, she charged the Keeper, rearing Soul back and flinging him forward, not letting go as they both sailed through the air. Her ears rang with her screams as well as Soul's as they grew closer, building up speed as well as resistance. They came in contact with something hard. Maka smiled.

She pressed further on Soul with all of her strength in attempt to break whatever the blade was touching. She grunted in annoyance when she realized that it was harder than breaking a normal Kishin Egg body, but she didn't give up. An involuntary scream escaped her lips and her eyes closed tightly as she pushed even harder, finally breaking through.

The mass shook violently with what Maka considered only a tiny impact. She felt the blade slice through more of what she guessed was the Keeper's skin, but suddenly it stopped. Again, she was just cutting air, and that wouldn't do – the entity had been thicker than that.

Her eyes opened and she blinked a few times, noticing that she now stood in a monster-less white room. She turned around and searched the room, still gripping Soul tightly. She didn't know what to expect in her dream world – the irony was a bit sickening. Should the Keeper decide to reappear, she was going to be ready for it.

Her breathing slowed to almost a complete stop as she waited. Soul was silent as well, probably expecting the same thing as her. A few minutes ticked by and nothing happened; everything seemed safe. She felt Soul's metal handle turn into skin – he was still gripping her hand in the same fashion from when she had pulled him from the blackness.

He plopped down with a sigh, pulling her with him. For a moment, they both sat in silence, still not fully sure if it was safe yet.

Finally, Soul spoke.

"Welcome back," he greeted nonchalantly. "You're an idiot."

"This time," Maka began slowly, hanging her head in shame, "I'm going to agree with you there." She paused. "Thanks for that."

"For what?" Soul asked, looking at the light brown haired meister from the corner of his eye curiously.

"For, you know… everything." Maka said lamely, but there was evident sincerity in her voice.

"Yeah?" Soul replied as he stretched out, looking around the room curiously. He was inside of Maka's head now, so he wanted to memorize it. Maybe then some of her actions wouldn't seem so out there and infuriating. He looked back at Maka after a pause. "Right back at you."

She smiled, and this time there was no insanity in it. Her face wasn't quite yet its normal appearance, but it was slowly inching its way back.

"So what is this place anyways?" Soul asked as he stood up, walking to a small stage area in the center. "It looks like the music storage room in the lobby at school."

"It does, doesn't it? It must be because we have Soul Resonance," Maka replied as she stood up as well. "How'd you do that by yourself?"

"Dunno," Soul shrugged. "Must be because I'm so cool."

"How do we get out of here?" Maka asked, giving his response nothing more than an eye roll. "Do I just… tell myself to wake up?"

"I think we just end the Resonance," Soul replied with a small frown. Stein had taught him how to enter Maka's dreams, but he didn't tell him how to _exit_. The extended time his Soul was connected to Maka was starting to wear him out. "We can try that first at least."

They closed their eyes and cut the connection between their wavelengths. Maka caught glimpse and saw how uneven they were and frowned – they would definitely need some balancing training soon. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was staring right at Soul, whose own eyes opened a few seconds later.

They just looked at each other in silence and confusion as their surroundings sank in. No longer in the white room of Maka's mind, they lay on her bed back in Death City in the same room as her father, Sid-sensei, and Dr. Stein.

"Quickly, say these words," Sid said as he thrust the thick book in Maka's face. "We'll talk in a minute."

Maka blinked a few times and leaned closer to the page, looking at the jumble of Latin words Sid was pointing to.

"Abscido somnium monstrum," she said quietly, then looked back up at her teacher. "What was that?"

"The counter spell for the one you said before. It gets rid of the guardian completely. It means 'take away the dream monster'." Sid then began to explain everything he learned from studying the book and what had happened in Maka's absence to the two students as Spirit clung desperately to his daughter's hand in tears.

"All of this over some stupid words?" Soul asked with a frown.

"All of this over some _powerful_ words," Stein corrected the boy, and then turned his attention to Maka. "Where did you get this book?"

"Mama gave it to me…" Maka said slowly. Her eyes widened in realization when she noticed she was lying in Soul's lap. She flew up with a huff – he treated her like a baby most of the time.

"Did she not tell you what it was?" Stein asked. His fingers twitched. He needed a cigarette – the craving was growing to the point where he didn't care about respecting the student's homes.

"No," Maka shook her head. "She told me that it would make me stronger. She wasn't talking about me being a meister, obviously."

"My ex-wife…" Spirit muttered. "It seems so out of character for her."

"This book will make you stronger," Sid continued, ignoring Death Scythe's comment. "That's its purpose. It was made for beginning witches like you…" He trailed off and frowned as he scratched the area of skin underneath his headband.

"Take it away," Maka muttered as she folded her arms over her chest. "I don't care what you do with it, just get away from me."

Sid nodded as he tucked the book between his arm and chest. He turned to leave, but he paused at the door.

"Remember, Maka Albarn, you have a fire inside of you; it's dangerous to play with it anymore than you already have."

The adults all said their goodbyes – Death Scythe's taking an uncomfortably long time – but soon, Maka and Soul were alone.

"I remember everything that happened now," Maka said slowly after a fit of silence. She looked at her partner from the corner of her eye and smiled. "There aren't many people who are as strong as you, Soul."

Soul frowned to himself. Maka thought he was stronger then he actually was – she always had. He was just the weapon, just the dealer of the cards, but she was the meister. To him, he was the weak one and she was strong. She dealt with so many things and still kept trudging on despite her stumbles. He admired her, though he would never admit it to her.

"I think I'm going to sleep right here." Soul stretched lazily, changing the subject to his liking. He lay out on the bed and closed his eyes. "'Night."

"Eh? This is my bed, Soul!" Maka shouted. "Where am I going to sleep?" She started to hit him in the chest in attempt to get him to move.

"My bed, I guess. Go away, you're annoying."

"This is my room, idiot! You leave – now! I'm tired, too! We just had a pretty anti-climatic battle in my head. Do you know how that feels?" Maka grabbed Soul by his shirt and dragged him out of her room, dropping him hard on the carpeted floor. She gave his leg a small kick, hmphed, and turned on her heel, shutting the door loudly behind her, disappearing out of sight. "You're so stupid."

Despite herself, she smiled. She crawled back in bed and, even though she had technically been asleep all day, she found herself falling asleep with ease. She didn't dream that night, and if she ever did again, it would be too soon.

* * *

**A/N:** Ew, I know, double author notes. Forgive me – this should be the only time! I'm sure most of you have noticed that I don't have a beta. I'm in need of one! See my profile for more details! Thanks. (And before anyone mentions it, I'm aware that this site has a beta section, and I've contacted a few people already, only to get no response D:)


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater.

**A/N:** This story has another time jump! Yeah, I hate these, but it's needed. Don't kill me. I'm sitting aside the angst (for the most part) for a bit because it wears me out. A few pretty heavy plot points come into play now. I had a really hard time writing most of this chapter, but I love the ending… I don't know why. I hope you guys do, too. It's also the longest!

A very good question that I've been asked is whether or not everyone else's lives are the same – everyone being anyone who is not Soul and Maka – and the answer is, yes. For the most part anyhow. Tsubaki has had her fight with her brother, Liz and Patty formally lived on the streets, etc. This is a Soul and Maka centric story… Just clearing things up!

Thanks to ToastWeaselofDOOM for the beta work! :D

* * *

A few weeks after Maka and Soul's meeting with Shinigami, a team consisting of both students and adults were formed. Despite having gained only one soul, Black Star and Tsubaki's overall strength was undeniable, thus earning them an invitation which they accepted. After hearing about the mission, Death the Kid requested that he, Liz, and Patty all be enrolled into Shibusen so that they could join as well. Of course, this happened, and the student team was complete.

Sid and Mira – who had informed everyone that she preferred Nygus – were the team's leaders and 'chaperones' as Soul sometimes muttered. Stein was considered to be apart of the group, and though he claimed it was just observation, he sometimes joined in with Sid and helped with training the younger members. For the most part, things went smoothly.

There were, however, the ever rare accidents. Stein had accidentally – though Liz swore up and down that it wasn't the case – shot Sid through the skull while showing Death the Kid how to properly use his weapons. Everyone had thought he was dead, and he was, but Nygus promised that he would be back the next day good as new. The following day, Sid showed up no longer in the same dark skin Maka had always admired and his body was completely different.

Liz had immediately started crying while the others stared at him in silence, not knowing what to say. In attempt to avoid being rude, Maka complimented him on his new appearance and suggested that they start training. Later they all learned that he was the same Sid, just with a different outer shell – a zombie shell – and a few odd habits.

Black Star had been fascinated by Sid's immortality and requested that Tsubaki kill him so he too could become a zombie. She, of course, denied him feverishly.

Twice a month, they would go on group missions to strengthen their overall soul wavelengths – Stein wanted to do something called Team Resonance. Maka dreaded this with everything she had due to who her team was made of. Kid refused to kill anything symmetrical and would get angry at the others if they even tried to damage it, and Black Star was convinced that the meaning of quiet was to run up to the target screaming his name as loud as possible.

She had her faults, too. Like when she would over think doing a move instead of just doing it, causing in unbalancing the team completely. She was trying her hardest though, and she reluctantly supposed the others were as well.

Outside of fighting, the group of students grew close. Soul and Black Star eventually got over whatever grudge they held against Kid after a few weeks of giving him the cold shoulder and would sometimes disappear together for hours at a time, leaving the girls alone. They usually spent time at the basketball court doing things that boys did and enjoying their youthfulness while the girls hung out and watched movies, sometimes heading out to shop. Secretly, Maka liked it best when all seven were together.

Despite their polar differences, they were friends.

Maka was grateful for the fact that Liz and Patty were present at the fight with Eruka so she didn't have to face an awkward moment of informing them that she was a witch. Liz made a side comment that Maka wasn't as scary as the other witches, which made Maka feel accepted by the older girl who feared nearly everything. She didn't have to worry about what Patty thought – the younger girl's vision was black and white with little grey areas – it was an unspoken acceptance with her.

Much to her pleasure, Tsubaki never did bring up Maka's secret of being a witch. After fearing that she would eventually turn on her for being an enemy by blood, it was nice to know that Tsubaki didn't even think of her differently. If she did, she kept it to herself, which Maka was fine with as well.

A year and a half went by and not so much of a peep came from Kami or the witches who Kim warned Maka about. It was almost as if the week in December never happened. It was a bit upsetting, but the team never gave up. They took the absence of attacks as gifted time to improve on their flaws and perfect their strong points instead of taking it as surrender.

"Maka! Act on impulse! If you hesitate one more time, I'll bury you for the night!" Sid shouted with a shake of his large, blue fist.

"Sorry," Maka replied with a grunt, gripping Soul in his scythe form tighter than ever. She immediately reared him back and struck at the Kishin egg dummy, tearing it in two and dodging the rain of swords that poured out of its body. Damn. She lost.

"Maka-chan got the swords!" Patty laughed hysterically in her gun form.

"Looks like we're paying for dinner tonight, Soul," she grumbled, but not unhappily. It had been her cleanest cut yet – she was improving.

This was the one exercise the seven students hated more than anything, so they invented a game to go along with it. There were ten dummies that represented the bodies of Kishin eggs which were all filled with something. Nine were filled with tiny shockers that would paralyze you for six and a half seconds, while the tenth was full of swords. No one was sure what the meaning of the training exercise was exactly, but they had to go along with it.

The partners who sliced open the body of swords had to treat everyone to dinner that night. Usually it was Black Star and Tsubaki, but in this case, it was Soul and Maka's duty.

"Good job, everyone. Maka, keep working on your pauses. Kid, if you don't hit number eight before the end of the week, I'm going to lock you in a room with number five for as long as I feel is needed. Black Star… stop being so loud." Nygus sighed and ignored Kid's cries of objections. "You can go home today, but be here tomorrow –"

"At seven sharp," Black Star interrupted with a smile. "Yeah, yeah, we know."

Sid and Nygus walked off together with a wave – Maka had her suspicions that they had a deeper relationship than one between a weapon and technician, but they hid it well since no one but Liz agreed with her. Maka let go of Soul and allowed him to change back to his human form, followed by the other weapons closely.

Soul stretched and looked at his partner from the corner of his eye as he yawned loudly. His muscles always tightened after being a scythe for so long and it felt nice to be able to stretch them.

"Were you watching me today, Tsubaki?" Black Star shouted happily as he shook his weapon. "I was the biggest one out there! Did you see how I demolished four in a row? Yahoo!"

"Y-yes, I was there," Tsubaki said as she attempted to loosen her technician's grasp on her shoulders. "You were great, Black Star!"

"I know!" Black Star laughed manically, letting go of Tsubaki and placing his hands on his hips, turning to Soul and Maka. "Where will you be treating your future god, mortals?"

"Ahem," Kid cleared his throat. "Technically, the only future god here is me."

Black Star glared at his friend and folded his arms in a huff. He muttered a few obscenities from under his breath and chose to ignore the statement. He had been forced to promise not to attack the Shinigami-in-training unless under specific orders, which were unlikely to ever be given. Despite being thick headed, Black Star was true to his word.

"Let's go to Joe's Hamburger Joint!" Tsubaki suggested before Maka could reply. She ducked her head and blushed in embarrassment – Liz had taken them there the following week and she had been craving the greasy cheeseburger and fries ever since.

"Sounds good," Soul shrugged as he shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans. He had changed up his style quite a bit to match the leather jacket he had begun to wear religiously. He looked older with just a simple orange shirt and dark olive green toned pants – Maka found herself liking it much more then the clash of colors she'd met him in.

"So, Kid," Black Star began as the group started walking towards town from the field they practiced in, "which is worse? Destroying your beloved number eight or being locked in a room for a month with number five?"

"Preferably I will deal with neither," Kid shuddered. "But I suppose I have to destroy number eight. I have been putting it off too long, haven't I?"

"You say that every time," Liz complained, "and every time you don't go through with it. It's just a stupid Kishin egg dummy, there's nothing symmetrical about it."

"Big sis is right!" Patty shouted, giving Kid a hard hit of comfort on the back. "Kill the bastard!"

Soul laughed to himself and lagged behind the group, lazily looking at their surroundings. They'd taken this unofficial trail so many times before that they had formed a makeshift path through the woods. He looked through the branches of the trees which spread out over the sky like arms and spied the sun, laughing almost sadistically as it did every day. He liked the moon better, but he never told anyone this because it wasn't cool guys like him usually thought about.

Something fluttered through the trees, causing him to stop and eye the branches. Whatever it was, it was much larger then a bird, or a cat for that matter. It looked almost as if it could have been human.

"Yo," Maka called. Soul looked up to see that she had paused a few feet ahead of him, allowing the others to head on, too. "If we keep this pace they might think we're trying to get out of paying."

"You don't have to walk with me you know," Soul said with a small smile, forgetting the reason why he had stopped.

Maka blinked and gave him a look that clearly stated she hadn't even considered it. With a shrug, she turned around and began walking at a slow enough pace for Soul to catch up, which he did with ease. They walked in comfortable silence until they caught the others.

"Where's this place that you were talking about, Tsubaki?" Black Star asked as he folded his hands behind his head lazily.

"Right around the corner once we hit town," Tsubaki replied with a smile.

Maka's stomach growled in anticipation for dinner as she noticed the grass turning to concrete. She smiled to herself when she realized that the group's pace had picked up considerably at once – after working so hard they were all pretty starved.

"You'll like this," Liz pointed out something on the menu to her technician. She somewhat ignored his complaints of the overall shack like appearance of the restaurant he'd been saying since they arrived.

"Go ahead and order it for me, but no promises that I'll eat it." Kid was wiping down the table area in front of him as hard as he could. He wasn't going to be satisfied with it until he could see his reflection on the dull wood. When was the last time they had even cleaned? He shuddered at the thought.

"If I'm paying, you better eat it!" Maka snapped, sending Kid a glare. Future death god or not, he wasn't going to waste her money because of his obsessive compulsive disorder – which he always denied having.

"I can't decide what I want, so I'll get it all!" Black Star exclaimed finally after carefully examining the small menu. He jumped up and began laughing while listening off the things he wanted to eat. "I, your future god, demand that you –"

Maka cut off his speech by grabbing hold of his pants leg and dragging him down as hard as she could, landing him back into his seat. Patty laughed hysterically and pointed at the scene in front of her while the others ducked their head in embarrassment.

"Sorry, sorry!" Tsubaki apologized feverishly while bowing each time. She turned to her partner and narrowed her eyes. "You've got to be more considerate, Black Star!"

Tsubaki chided her partner for a bit longer before the waitress came over. It was obvious by her nervousness that the employees had drawn straws or something of the sorts to see who would be the large group of teenager's server and she had lost. She fumbled her words only twice when Kid asked her when the last time the restaurant had gone under a thorough clean out was – which Maka had to compliment her on. Kid could be very intimidating; he was a Shinigami, after all.

The seven friends talked and joked around until their food arrived. Soul immediately began devouring his three cheeseburgers – which wasn't surprising – but Tsubaki was following suit. Black Star got the biggest thing on there, not to mention most expensive much to Maka's dismay, and Kid got the smallest. Liz and Patty shared a MuchoMadness Burger, while Maka settled for a simple hamburger and fries.

"So tomorrow we're going to be doing Team Resonance again," Maka said slowly as she popped a fry in her mouth. "Do you think we're ready?"

"With me involved, we're ready for everything!" Black Star proclaimed with a mouth full of food. He started to laugh, but Tsubaki gave him a hit on the back of his head before he could splatter his chewed food all over the place.

"You're the problem," Maka muttered with a sigh. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't connect with the assassin's soul. She blamed it on him, but she secretly knew it was because of her Soul Protection and the fact that she was so weak. Tomorrow they were heading out to the desert so she could take her Protection off and try to do it properly.

"This… This…" Kid stumbled as he stared wide eyed at his children's menu sized burger. "This is wonderful!"

"I told you that you'd like it!" Liz said proudly as she gave her partner a hard pat. "Never underestimate my judgment. With this rate, we'll have you loosened up in no time, Kid."

"Baby steps," Soul joked as he polished off his second cheeseburger. He looked hungrily at Maka's untouched one. "Are you going to eat that?"

"Finish off what you have left!" Maka snapped, batting his wandering hand away from her plate. To spite him, she picked up the hamburger and bit into it, looking at her partner the whole time.

"Boom!" Patty shouted as she poured her fries into Black Star's lap. "Take that, asshole!"

"What the hell? You little–" Black Star retaliated by jumping up, taking the top half of his burger with him and rubbing it down the side of Patty's face. The girl was too hysterical to respond with anything but laughter.

"Black Star, we're in public!" Tsubaki exclaimed as she looked at the horrified waitress who was bringing a second round of drinks. "I'm so sorry! Please excuse us; we've had a very long day!"

"Patty gets destructive when she's sleepy," Liz explained to the waitress as if she would understand the situation better.

"Maybe we should just call for the check," Soul suggested as he rolled his eyes at the others. Hanging out with them was making his coolness level drop significantly and that was not okay. He gave a nod to the waitress who scampered off more than happily to do so.

"M-Maybe we should go," Tsubaki stumbled as she stood. She turned to her partner, who was now lecturing Patty on bullying people who were bigger than she, and gave his shirt a large tug, catching his attention.

"Alright, Tsubaki," Black Star said with a shrug. He stood up and gave his friends a big wave. "I will see you tomorrow. Be prepared to be awed by my stage presence! Oi, Soul, do you want to meet up at the court later and burn off some extra steam?"

"Sure," Soul agreed with a flash of his sharp smile. The two friends high fived in agreement then turned to Kid, who was primly patting the corners of his mouth as he swallowed his last bite.

"What about you, Kid?" Black Star asked as he put his hands on his hips. "I won't go easy on you this time!"

"I suppose I could. Only if you promise not to go easy on me," Kid said as he gave a small, teasing smile. It was obvious that he didn't think Black Star went easy on him last time, and by the way the blue haired assassin nearly collapsed after a session of one-on-one basketball with the young death god, he wasn't too far off.

"Alright! Let's meet in an hour!"

With that, the shadow weapon and her rambunctious partner left the restaurant.

"I guess we should head out, too," Kid started. "Thank you for the meal, Maka."

"What about me?" Soul asked as he narrowed his eyes. "I'm paying for this, too!"

"Didn't you blow all of your money on those new shoes?" Liz asked lazily as she finished up her drink. Realization hit her as her eyes widened and looked at Maka. "Oh yeah, I wasn't supposed to say anything about that, was I?"

"No…" Soul said slowly as he carefully watched his partner's face darken considerably. With each tick of her head, he knew that he was in trouble.

"On that note, we're going to leave." Kid stood up and beckoned at his partners. "See you at the basketball court, Soul." His golden eyes glanced at Maka before adding, "Hopefully."

All that remained at the table were dirty dishes, left over bits of food, Soul, and a very angry Maka. She slowly moved her gaze upon his face and he gulped – her eyes held a fire that only appeared when he was about to get the worst abuse she could dish out.

A lecture.

"What have I told you about being careful as to where your money goes?" Maka's voice was growing louder with every word. "Now we have to go double missions so we don't starve! New shoes? Really, Soul? Was that so much more important than the next two weeks groceries?" She was openly shouting now, not caring about the other customers around them.

"Calm down, Maka, I –"

"Calm down? I'm tired of you always telling me to calm down! Each time we get our pay, I tell you how much money you can spend on yourself and how much has to go towards food! It's not that hard, Soul!" She was standing now with her hands on her hips. "I really can't believe you would do that!"

"H-Here's the check," the waitress stumbled. Her bright red bangs drifted to cover her wide eyes as she handed Maka the check, having overheard the argument. It was hard not to considering Maka's volume.

"Thanks," Maka snapped as she pulled it out of the girl's hand. Immediately, guilt spread through her in the form of a blush due to the tone she took with the poor employee, so she attempted to flash a smile despite her fuming state. With the way the waitress spun on her heels to get away, Maka was sure it came out looking more frightening than friendly.

With a sigh, Maka dug in her school bag for her wallet. She fumbled to get it open, cursing heavily under her breath. She was spending all of her money on everyone's dinner alone because of some stupid game they invented to make it less boring and it didn't please her in the slightest. She glanced at the tab and pursed her lips. It was a lot cheaper than she expected, but with the way they treated their server, it wouldn't be right to leave the percentage of tip that was needed. She would have to shell out more money to show her gratitude.

"Hey," Soul began when he thought it was safe. "I'll pay you back, okay?"

"Don't worry about it," Maka replied with a sigh. When her eyes returned to her partner they didn't look angry at all, just a little tired. She had a small smile playing with her lips – Soul was happier than he should have been at the sight.

"Let's go home." He shoved his hands deep into his jean pockets and started to walk out. He threw a look over his shoulder at his partner, who was still standing at her chair, looking at the table next to where they were and waving. He followed her gaze to a boy who was in the midst of standing – he looked a little younger than Maka, maybe a year or two off.

Soul watched curiously as the boy made his way over to Maka. They both greeted each other and shared a small laugh. Soul watched the boys hand rest on his partner's shoulder with hard, crimson eyes before he decided to walk back over where the conversation was taking place.

"Oi, Maka, who is this?" he asked curiously as he eyed the brat.

"This is Hiro," she replied with a small gesture. "He's in our Soul History lab."

"I don't recall ever meeting him," Soul muttered, laughing inwardly at youthful appearance of the boy who was, in fact, their age. _Not cool at all_… Soul thought as he considered what it would be like to look younger than he actually was.

"That's because you're never in class," Maka replied with a sigh. She turned to Hiro and gave him another smile. "I'll see you Thursday! I've got to go."

"Okay, bye, Maka!" Hiro exclaimed, giving her shoulder a small squeeze. Soul could have sworn he spotted the boy look at him almost mockingly, but in an instant, it was gone.

As they were leaving, Soul overheard the other males at the table – who he had assumed were Hiro's friends – banter him in a less than joking way. He couldn't help but smirk as he stepped out on the street.

"You pick some weird friends," he mentioned passively as he and Maka strolled in the direction to their apartment. The sun's laughs were becoming slower and more drawn out as he was on his way to setting.

"Well, I picked a lousy weapon," Maka half pouted, folding her arms tightly over her chest.

"You picked a _cool_ weapon," Soul corrected with a shrug, unfazed by Maka's insult. She would get over the money incident soon – she was already half way there.

The usual comfortable silence fell between the two. Unlike with most people, Maka didn't feel the urge to babble endlessly about nothing when she was around Soul in order to keep the conversation going. They had more of an unspoken relationship than a talkative one, and that was fine with her. Sometimes, when she was bored, she would gaggle about silly things with her partner to see if he would listen.

Of course, he never did, but she didn't mind it – truth be told, there were moments when she tuned out Soul as well. All that mattered where the moments when she really needed someone to talk to. The white haired weapon was always willing to hear her vent about the pettiest of things with closed eyes and open ears. To Maka, those were some of her favorite moments.

Even if he was an idiot.

* * *

"Soul Resonance!"

The chorus of the witch and her weapon's voice rang out clear in the dry air. Sand formed a curtain of mystery around them as Soul's scythe blade morphed into something the others described as large and frightening.

"Witch Hunter!" Maka proclaimed. She didn't have to yell the name of the move, it just felt more official doing so. She loved the feeling of confidence she would get whenever she shouted it almost as much as she loved the feeling of the move itself. It was powerful. It was deadly. The very atmosphere around them changed whenever it was used. It was something Maka craved.

Beside herself, she wondered if that was the reason behind Black Star's claim to godliness.

"Very good," Stein complimented as the sand settled around the technician. "No fumbles today; you're growing used to Soul's power finally."

Maka couldn't help but smile at the praise. She turned her attention to Sid and Nygus, who both nodded in agreement.

"Try throwing your soul wavelength at the target now," Sid instructed from the sidelines as he pointed towards a makeshift Kishin egg dummy made of wood. "Don't worry about destroying it – applying damage is just fine."

Maka clenched her teeth as she brought Soul back, careful to put enough distance between the energy bursting blade and her body. She closed her eyes and felt her soul was close to Soul's – they grabbed the wave length together. Her body burst with the energy and her ears buzzed – it took a moment for her to realize that she was screaming in anticipation.

Swiftly, she swung Soul in an underhanded fashion, sending a crescent shaped wave of power towards the dummy. Maka's eyes snapped open as she watched her wavelength run right by her destined area and into the deep part of the desert.

"Damn," Maka cursed angrily. "I didn't even damage it."

"Work on your aim, Maka! It'll be easier with an actual Kishin egg with your Soul Perception, but you can't always rely on that," Sid informed. "Try one more time. Kid, you're up next."

Maka huffed in aggravation and readied herself with Soul again in silence – he knew that she was too serious to listen to anything he had to say in the moment. Plus it was sometimes hard to think in his power-up, especially if he was shooting his meister's soul wavelength out of his blade.

This time, when she built of her wavelength and shot it out with force, she kept her eyes open all the while, careful to aim properly. She watched as the scythe blade shaped power wave ripped through the dummy, but she still wasn't pleased. Without thinking, she let off another attack, angling it so that it ripped the other parts in halves so that now the dummy was in four pieces.

"Why are you so mad?" Soul asked in confusion as he felt the anger in her soul pulsate into his own. "You demolished the thing!"

"I didn't get it on my first try!" Maka shouted in annoyance.

Before anyone could reply, she let out another shot of her wavelength, not caring where it went. The release was somewhat satisfying, but not completely. She let out another and another until she couldn't stand any longer. She dropped to her knees, but her fall was cushioned by Soul's grasp – he had broken their connection and turned back to his human form in order to catch her before she hit the hard, dusty ground.

"What the hell, Maka?" he snapped as he still felt her anger mingle with his annoyance. "Are you trying to kill yourself? We've never even executed that correctly before and you want to do it _eight_ times in a row?"

"Shut up," Maka mumbled as she stumbled to her feet.

"Soul is right, Maka," Nygus said as she stepped closer to the girl to examine her in order to determine if she had any physical injuries. "You need to take smaller steps."

"I'm tired of everyone treating me like a baby." Maka's voice was barely above a whisper as her eyebrow quivered and her head hung low. Clenching her fist, she allowed her neck to snap up, staring at Nygus straight in the eyes. "I'm a witch! I'm supposed to be powerful!"

"That's not necessarily true," Stein interjected. His slender fingers held onto his cigarette as he exhaled a rather large puff of smoke. "You're still young."

"Why do you care about that anyways?" Soul asked. He was still crouching with hands on his knees. "You want to be the greatest technician in Shibusen, not world's strongest witch."

"Everyone is always telling me what I want and what I should want, but no one ever asks what I feel about it!" Maka exclaimed as she through her hands in the air exasperatedly.

"Do you want to become world's strongest witch?" Soul questioned as he quirked an eyebrow.

"No!" Maka replied indubitably as her green eyes widened.

"Then why are we having this conversation?"

"It's not the point, Soul!"

"Then what's the point, Maka?"

"I… It's just… Black Star can shoot his wavelength _through_ people with just using his bare hands! Kid can fire off three hundred and fifty shots in less than three minutes of his wavelength and I can barely do eight." There. She said it. She wasn't jealous – and she hoped it didn't come off that way – she just wanted to be on the same page as her team members. It was exasperating to be the most simplistic link in a chain of amazing people in comparison. It was frustrating beyond words.

"For one," Kid began as he stepped up, intruding on the seemingly intimate conversation between a weapon and his technician, "I'm not human, so my restrictions aren't as limited as yours."

"I've been training for this kind of stuff since I was, like, four!" Black Star exclaimed with a smile as he followed Kid and gave his childhood friend a pat on the back. "I'm a future god; you can't really expect to be as great as me."

Maka darkened at his words.

"For someone who carries himself with such confidence, you sure do like convincing people. You know what I think?" Maka's eyes looked every where but Black Star – she knew it was going to hurt him, but his words had hurt her, too. "I think that you're trying to convince yourself."

"Take it back," Black Star nearly snarled. His multicolored eyes narrowed dangerously as he glared at the girl in front of him.

"No," Maka breathed in response. Her fists and teeth clenched in aggravation. She braced herself for the inevitable Black Star punch that she was going to receive, but it never came. Instead, she felt herself being dragged away by sweet smelling hands.

She turned around to see Tsubaki next to her with a soft expression. She looked at Black Star – it seemed as though they were communicating through simple looks – and nodded.

"Maka-chan and I are going to take a break," Tsubaki said with a cheerful smile to Sid, who nodded. She turned back to her partner. "Do five hundred push ups why you wait for me, please!"

Before Maka could see the blue haired ninja's response, she felt herself being dragged away by the hand.

"I know you're angry right now, Maka-chan, but please let me talk to you," Tsubaki explained before sitting on the plain white towel that was spread out under a large umbrella far away from where the others were training. "Like Soul-kun does, I think you're being way too hard on yourself."

"I don't," Maka sulked as she folded her arms and plopped down as well.

"I also think that the last person you want to separate yourself from right now is Black Star," Tsubaki continued quietly, before adding, "Other than Soul, of course."

"What?" Maka blinked in confusion at her friend. "Why?"

"You have more in common with him than you think. He wouldn't be very happy with me telling you this, but it can't be helped." Tsubaki's raven hair whipped around her face with the sudden burst of dry wind as she closed to her eyes to protect them from the sand blowing in their direction. When it was over, she started to speak again. "Black Star tries very hard at everything he does. I only know this because I've been his partner for years – he hides it well. His talents don't come as naturally as you believe."

"What about his ego?" Maka mumbled, processing what the shadow weapon was telling her.

"Well, I'm sure that's a different matter," Tsubaki giggled. Her face sobered somewhat after a few beats. "You know, after my fight with my brother, I gained a new weapon form."

"Really?" Maka blinked in surprise. She'd always admired her friend's ability to turn into multiple weapon forms.

"Yeah." A sad smile appeared on Tsubaki's face as she stared intently at the only cloud in the sky. "Black Star is having difficulties with using it… He thinks it's because he's not strong enough, but I know that isn't the case."

"Black Star thinks he's not strong enough for something?" Maka was doubtful, and she had every right to be. Ever since she first met him so many years ago he'd always boasted about being the best there was and ever will be. It wasn't until their early preteen years where he'd began his quest to surpass God, but he'd always held that aura.

"Not fully, but he has his doubts every time he collapses after thirty seconds of holding me in Demon Blade mode. They're fleeting, but they're there." Tsubaki paused and bit her lip carefully before adding, "He also knows what it's like to not have a mother, Maka-chan."

Maka's breath caught in her throat. Why hadn't she ever thought of it that way? She knew that Black Star was rescued after his clan was destroyed by Shibusen for walking the way of a Kishin, but she never gave it much thought due to the fact that it was the way it had been all of her life. In that moment, with the way Tsubaki worded it, Maka realized just how unnatural it was.

"Oh." It came out in a tiny squeak, but Tsubaki heard the realization loud and clear.

"Don't feel bad, Maka!" Tsubaki said quickly with a wave of her hands. "I'm almost positive it hasn't occurred to him in that way just yet, either. Perhaps I'm wrong though. With Black Star… Well, he gets over things very quickly. It's his nature." The pretty girl faced the sky and smiled. "Honestly, sometimes I wish I were more like him, too."

"He really is godlike, isn't he?" Maka mumbled. She was in awe over what Tsubaki was informing her over. She squinted her eyes to block out the laughing sun's rays as she watched Soul and Black Star rough house around, rolling together in the sand. She heard Black Star's loud, obnoxious laugh and smiled. "Thank you for telling me this, Tsubaki."

"Sure," Tsubaki nodded as she pushed off, jumping to her feet. She turned around and held out her hands, offering to help Maka up off the towel as well.

Maka smiled in appreciation, but shook her head. She was capable of getting herself on her feet now, thanks to the tall beauty. She stood tall and walked back over to where the others where.

"Better?" Soul asked. His red eyes stared at the ground – it was obvious he was trying to show the right measure of coolness while still showing he cared about Maka.

"Yep," she replied with a smile.

"In that case, moving on," Stein began slowly as he lit a cigarette. "We're going to try Team Resonance again. The last few times have been… less than satisfactory, but I'm sure you kids will figure out something this time now that Maka's soul is no longer restricted."

"Ready?" Soul asked casually as he turned his arm into a scythe blade. "I'm sure I can make some sort of distraction until your nerves are chilled out."

"No, I'm good." Maka forced a smile. "Thanks." She gripped his open hand and felt the static hum through her as he transitioned from a human being to a weapon. The cool of the metal handle felt good against her sweating hands – she hadn't worn her gloves. She walked over to where Kid and Black Star had positioned themselves – their partners each in their respectable weapon form – and completed the triangle.

Maka felt the older soul walk away from the center of the group and her teammates ready their souls for strain. That was the easy part. The next step was to expand their souls around them; another easy part. The last, hardest, step was to connect your soul wavelength with the person next to you. For most, it was an impossible feat, but Dr. Stein swore up and down it had been done before so they trusted him. Despite their unstable wavelengths with each other, they were determined to make it work.

She felt as Kid laced his wavelength over to Black Star's soul and connected with ease. They had almost equally strong souls – Kid's, of course, was stronger because he was a death god – so the Duo Resonance was easy for them. Maka held her breath as Kid separated another piece of him and snaked his way towards her soul, matching her much smaller wavelength and finalizing the connection.

All that was left was Maka to connect with Black Star.

This time was different, however. This time she understood a piece of her childhood friend that she never knew existed. They weren't as different as she thought. Though he was much, much stronger than she, they shared something that no one dared mention except Tsubaki, not even themselves. They shared something big enough that maybe, just maybe, it would be the deciding factor on whether their very different souls connected.

Maka took a deep breath and concentrated on her soul, picking a strand and tossing it into the wind, allowing it to reach Black Star's soul. She brought her thread down slowly and laced within the opening he gave her.

Power surged.

They were connected.

Though the moment was short lived – Black Star immediately lost full concentration when he realized that they had finally done it, thus breaking the whole thing – they had succeeded.

"Let's do that again!" Black Star shouted excitedly as he gripped Tsubaki – who was in her chain scythe mode – tighter. "Did you feel that, Tsubaki? That was amazing!"

"We did it!" Maka exclaimed happily with a small jump. She looked over at Black Star and smiled fondly. When he gave her a thumb up, she knew that she had been forgiven.

She felt strong in that moment… Not the Black Star type of strong, but the Maka type of strong that she wouldn't trade for anything. It swelled inside of her and raged in her soul.

"I don't wanna do that again," Patty said dizzily as she fell out of her weapon form and onto the ground with a sigh. "I'm tired."

Kid immediately dropped Liz with a look of disgust. He hated managing with just one gun; it wasn't right.

"Watch it, Kid!" Liz shouted as she transformed into her human form quickly so that she could catch herself. "You could have just sat me down, jerk!"

"Aw, come on, Patty, one more time!" Black Star would have whined if he didn't find it beneath him to do so.

Patty slowly looked at him with fire in her eyes with a sharp glare. She took a deep breath and made each word drawn out, putting childish emphasis on her syllables. "I said. I was. Tired."

"Fine, whatever," Black Star huffed as he let go of Tsubaki and allowed her to turn into her human form. Maka followed with Soul.

"Well, I suppose you all did a good job today. The results weren't desirable, but they were better than I expected!" Stein clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. He then turned to Sid and questioned him with his eyes before turning towards the students once more. "Go ahead and take a break. We'll let you know when we're ready to start up again."

Soul stretched and bent backwards so that he could look at Maka upside down. He flashed her one of his sloppy, lazy grins and mess of sharp teeth when their eyes met, causing her to stick her tongue out in return. He liked her best like this – when she was pleased with herself.

The rest of training went as it usually did – Kid refused to hit anything with the number eight involved, Black Star took advantage of the remote placement of the place and yelled as loud as possible whenever he could, Liz complained about the dry air killing her skin, and Soul continued to act as cool as he possibly could. Maka and Tsubaki seemed to be the only ones not complaining – Maka was still elated about the few seconds of Team Resonance they managed and it was just Tsubaki's nature.

After a few more hours of physical activity, Maka's adrenaline finally wore out and she slumped in a sleepy state. She stretched lazily against the sand with a sigh as she felt someone else lay out next to her. She looked at the corner of her eye and saw Black Star.

"Yo," she said idly as she sat up and propped up on her elbows. She stared at a particular grain of sand as if it was the most interesting thing she'd ever seen. "Sorry about earlier…" Even though she knew she had already been forgiven, she couldn't help but to say it out loud.

"It's no big deal," Black Star shrugged as he folded his arms behind his head. His green-blue eyes stared at the empty sky for a moment before he turned his attention to the light brown haired girl. "I know you didn't mean it!"

"Hey, Black Star, do you remember when Mama took us to that amusement park?" Maka asked as she pursed her lips curiously. Her green eyes flitted over to her childhood friend. "I think I was eight and you were nine."

"Huh?" Black Star blinked for a second – he had been caught off guard – before his face shifted into a large smile. "Yeah, I remember!"

"I was so scared to ride the biggest roller coaster because it went upside down too many times, but you wanted to ride it so bad that you spent the entire day convincing me to." Maka smiled at the memory of the smaller Black Star poking, prodding, and teasing her constantly.

"My godly powers of persuasion broke you in and we rode it!" Black Star sat up quickly with a laugh. "You were a maniac and wanted to ride again afterwards…"

"But we couldn't because you were too busy throwing up," Maka teased.

"Tell anyone that and I'll assassinate you," Black Star muttered as he narrowed his eyes in the same teasing manner.

"You were nine! I don't think anyone would ever think of you as weak because you puked after eating all of that food and then riding something called Vomit Inducer…" Maka laughed quietly to herself before she looked over at her blue haired friend. "I remember having a lot of fun that day with you and my mom. You're like a brother to me, Black Star. Even if you do annoy the hell out of me eighty percent of the time."

Black Star didn't do anything but give his friend a large smile. He never had considered anyone family – except for Tsubaki – and he never expected anyone to think of him that way, either. It was a bit of a shock to hear Maka Albarn say something like that, but, he – the strongest man in the world – didn't say anything about it. He was the man who would someday surpass God; he didn't need a family. Then again, he didn't need a lot of things he had.

Suddenly, the two friends were interrupted by the others who rounded a rather large sand dune that had been separating them from each other. Maka's eyes narrowed has she noticed the expressions of her team members – even the adults looked a bit distressed.

"Eh? What's wrong?" she asked Soul as he rushed over to her and grabbed her hand tightly. She saw Liz and Patty transform into weapons and watched as Kid caught the spiraling guns midair quickly. Tsubaki rushed over to Black Star and changed into her ninja blade mode without a word.

"Your mom is paying us a visit," Soul mumbled as he followed his fellow weapons in transforming. The coolness of the metal scythe handle filled Maka's hand as she watched with wide eyes as the black and red blade shot out around her.

Suddenly, Maka became very aware of the electrical current that pulsated through the air around her. Her green eyes glossed over with confusion.

"Assemble around Maka!" Stein instructed. He was weaponless, but unworried. He had the power to amplify his soul wavelength without use of a weapon – if Kami came close enough to hurting him, he would shoot his wavelength through her with ease. "We don't know what she wants, so don't take any chances."

"M-Mama?" Maka stumbled over her words, not sure what to do or say. It didn't seem to matter since her lips felt numb and her legs anchored themselves deep into the sand in surprise.

"Well it seems that Shinigami has sent his own welcoming committee," Kami's voice was loud as she appeared on top of the same sand dune the others just came from. Her long lightly colored hair blew in the heavy desert wind wildly around her body, making her seem even smaller. "Though, it's not very welcoming to start a war line, now is it?"

"What do you want, Kami?" Sid rumbled as he gripped Nygus – she had transformed into her knife mode immediately after Stein detected her presence.

"I just heard that there was a team of Shibusen's best students and teachers who were training specifically for my defeat," Kami shrugged as she approached the group with a predatory walk – like a wolf. Her sparkling green eyes fell on her daughter for a moment before she grinned madly. "I didn't know my Maka was apart of it, though. What a surprise."

Sid and Stein quickly made their way over to the students, closing the few feet of distance between them. The witch's intentions where still unclear – they didn't want the students, who were still unprepared for this combat despite their training, to get harmed.

"I'm curious," Stein said slowly as he glanced over the rims of his glasses at the seductively dressed woman. "What exactly are you planning?"

"A little destruction here, world domination there… and, of course, the death of the Shinigami fits somewhere in that equation... You know – usual witch things." Her eyelids lowered as her smile widened again.

"Why are you so straight forward?" Kid shouted as he gripped his twin pistols tightly. Hearing someone as vile as this woman saying her plans of killing his father made him angrier than he'd been in a long time. "You're such a waste of space."

"Perhaps those aren't my intentions at all," Kami said passively with a wave of her hand. "Maybe I haven't even discovered any motives yet and I'm doing this for fun. After all, I haven't done anything yet, have I?"

"You've just gotten your stupid lackeys to do your dirty work," Black Star snapped as he crouched, itching to jump and take off the witch's head. "How pathetic!"

"There is a fine line between being pathetic and being careful," Kami said harshly as she moved her neck with a snap to send the ninja technician an icy glare. "Because I haven't done anything myself, you have no right to kill me. Isn't that a Shibusen rule? I went there myself, you know."

"Why are you doing this?"

Everyone paused and looked behind them at Maka, who had finally found her voice. Her green eyes that mirrored Kami's all too well stared intently at her mother who stood but a few feet in front of her. She desperately wanted to close the gap, but she knew she shouldn't. Deep down, no matter how much she loved her mother, she knew it was too dangerous. She didn't want anyone to get hurt for her sake again.

"You people keep saying that I've done something!" Kami roared as she clenched her fist. "I haven't hurt a hair on your head or anyone else at Shibusen. All I've done is watch carefully."

A knife shot through Maka's chest when she realized that her mother didn't even refer to her. Anger began to well in the pit of her stomach.

"How can you keep saying that you haven't done nothing? You sent Eruka to attack Death City and people were hurt – Soul was hurt!" Maka screamed with fury. "I know your magic, Mama, and that was your aura with those energy attacks. I may someday forgive you for leaving me with Papa, but I will never forgive you for hurting Soul!"

With that, Maka crouched and leapt over her friends, landing next to her mother. She reared back Soul and swiped in a swift movement, all while never removing her eyes from her mother.

Kami dodged the blow with ease and sneered. "You honestly think you can defeat me with that? I thought I raised you better."

"You didn't raise me at all," Maka grunted as she swung again, harder than before. Her brain buzzed with anticipation of skin-on-blade feeling.

"Oi, Maka!" Soul called from the blade. "Let's do Soul Resonance."

"Right," Maka nodded as she stopped jumping after her mother. She closed her eyes and, together, the duo said the words that bonded their souls.

"Soul Resonance – Witch Hunter!"

Maka felt the electricity cackle around her as Soul's blade grew into a wide, U shape around her. Despite the growth, the scythe felt lighter and a lot easier to throw around now that her wavelength was in sync with his. She smiled.

Kami's eyes widened at the move – Maka could have sworn that there was a proud spark that lit up her eyes for a moment, but it went too fast to tell. Her mother was too confusing to wrap a head around and it fueled Maka's fire.

"You wouldn't use that on your mother, would you, Maka?" Kami's lips were in a smirk, but her voice was somewhat shaky, betraying her confidence. Maka had managed to intimidate her.

"You'd be surprised," Maka barked. The image of Soul getting hurt flashed through her mind – she was going to destroy every single witch involved in that incident if it was the last thing she did. With a loud grunt, she pulled back Soul with ease, ready to deliver the final blow and put an end to her mother.

"Maka."

Stein calmly grabbed Soul's blade and held it tightly, ignoring the shoots of energy as if it was absolutely nothing to him. Maka remembered that he once told her that he was able to match his wavelength to people and cancel out their special attacks with ease – was she just another one of those people? Maka's mind cleared of her anger and she blinked a few times in confusion. Why had he stopped her?

"What?" she snapped, as she gave Soul a tug.

"You don't want to do that," he cautioned as he continued to hold Soul's blade with ease. His dull eyes moved to look at Kami, but it seemed as though they shot right through her.

Maka snapped the wavelength binding her soul to her weapon and looked at Stein with eyes that clearly read she thought he was insane. She wished she had a stronger word for it, but her vocabulary seemed limited at that moment. Did he not know what was happening? All of their training over the past year and some odd months amounted to this moment and he stopped her! She watched as Soul's blade shrunk and his face appeared in the reflection – clearly confused as well.

"Maka, what are you doing?" Kid shouted as he took a quick step forward. His eyebrows were drawn together as he shot a glare at the meddling doctor.

"Ignore him – kill that witch!" Black Star yelled as he stepped behind Kid and tightened his grip on the ninja blade. "Tsubaki, shuriken mode."

"Okay," Tsubaki called through a puff of smoke, turning herself into an extremely large five pointed star blade. She didn't use this form too often due to the inefficiency of the size and effort it took to use it for combat, but it seemed as if Black Star was only going to need to throw it once in order to achieve his goal.

"If you go in for a kill," Stein began slowly as his eyes continued to search Kami, "you will be taking two souls."

"Stein, you don't mean…" Sid began strongly, but his dead eyes were wide with surprise as he watched the witch in front of them lift off the ground to hover over the dry sand.

Kami's green eyes flashed an unknown color and her face froze. A large, slow smile formed on her thin lips and her hair began to pulsate, snaps of electricity echoing out on the tips. A low rumble of laughter sounded out of the bottom of the witch's chest – she was amused. Her face contorted slowly, as if she was becoming a different person entirely.

To a frozen Maka, that was the case.

"It seems I underestimated your abilities, Stein," Kami said with a wave of her hand. "No matter; I made this visit to tell you to begin with."

"Tell us what? What's going on?" Black Star shouted loudly as he gripped the side of his head with his free hand. "All this cryptic speak is giving me a headache – get to the point!"

"There is another soul inhabiting Kami's body," Stein explained as he finally let go of Soul's blade and pushed up his glasses. "It was trying to hide, but when Maka pulled Witch Hunter, it became obvious."

"So another witch is inside of her?" Kid questioned as he quirked an eyebrow. "Father never mentioned that it was possible."

"I'm sure there are a lot of things your father kept from you," Kami snapped as she folded her arms. Her green eyes fluttered to Maka and she smiled. "Surprise, mommy-dearest isn't as bad as you thought. Are you just as willing to kill me?"

"Actually," Sid started in his unnaturally low voice, "I know that witches cannot share a body unless it is consensual. So if Kami agreed to this, she is just as guilty as you are. I apologize for the technicalities, but it's how I used to be."

"That isn't true," Maka muttered as she dropped Soul's blade into the weak ground. Her eyes snapped up to stare into the foreign eyes of the person who inhabited her mother. "Who are you? Why are you using my mother's body? Get your own!"

"Who am I? I am Medusa." An arrow slithered out of Kami's smiling mouth and wrapped around her bare forearm, burning a snake tattoo into the skin. "As for why I'm using this meat suit… Well, that's not any of your business… yet."

Maka should have known when Kami came and visited her on that Christmas Eve something was off. She knew there were things different about her mother, but she brushed them off – ten years can change a lot in person, can't they? It seemed as if ten years changed more than a lot in Maka's mother… She was angry, hurt, and overall confused at what was happening. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but she knew none would be answered.

There were also missing puzzle pieces that fell into place – some things that Kami had said to her made perfect sense now.

"I also came to ask if you changed your mind about leaving Shibusen to be with me, but I can assume, after finding this out in such a sudden way, your answer would be no," Medusa continued with a sigh.

"Good guess," Black Star growled, stepping in font of Maka. "Now get the hell out of here."

"As you wish." A large smile spread across Kami's face – or was it Medusa's? – and she looked at Maka one last time. "You can't run from me forever, you know. We're blood after all."

With a wink, she vanished; it was as if she was never there.

"Maka…" Soul said in a hushed tone after a few beats of silence. Sensing no more danger, in a flash he was in his human form and clutching onto Maka's arm. There were things he could say to her that bounced through his mind, but none of them seemed good enough. So he stood there silently, supporting her. It was the only thing he could think to do.

"Well…" Nygus said slowly as she jumped out of Sid's hands, landing on her firm legs in the dense sand. "That is an interesting new development."

"So it seems," Stein agreed as he lit a cigarette.

Maka glared at the ground and ignored Soul's prods. How was everyone acting so indifferent about this? Her mother – the woman they had been training to defeat – was just as much of a victim in this as they were. Someone sinister was running around in her body doing things she would never do in a million years and there was nothing she could do about it. Maka couldn't just sit there and take it like the others could. They didn't have a connection with the woman like she did.

"We need to save her!" she exploded, her eyes looking at everything and nothing at once. "I can save her with a spell – it'll be easy! That book she gave me has to have a purging spell in there! I can get that witch out of her and –"

"My father can handle this," Kid interrupted swiftly. He didn't want Maka to get too far ahead of herself and end up saying something that could manage to get her in trouble. "We can handle this without spells of any sorts."

"Kid-kun is right!" Patty exclaimed as she jumped out of her pistol form and bounced happily to the ground. "We'll blow her to pieces!"

"Without harming your mom," Liz added quickly as she, too went back to her normal form and stretched quickly. She puffed a large piece of dirty blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Yeah!" Black Star and Tsubaki chorused together as Tsubaki appeared in her beautiful form as well.

"If it's us, we'll win for sure." Soul had said that statement to Maka so many times before, but it never had so much passion laced in it.

Maka couldn't help but smile at her friend's enthusiasm. Her emerald eyes landed on the adults to see if they felt the same way and, by the way their faces held a look of confidence just as the student's did, they did. Next to the sense of loss of her mother, she felt a pinch of hope surge. Was it as possible as they were making it seem?

"It won't be easy," Nygus said bluntly as if she read Maka's mind.

"But I think we can manage," Sid continued as he gave his always straight-to-the-point partner a sideways glance.

"I think I will enjoy watching this all unfold." Stein was attempting to sound passive, but it was apparent that he was more interested in this than he wanted to admit. Maka had a sinking suspicion that he would somehow find a weapon and officially join the group with claims of closer observation. Despite herself, she hoped that it wouldn't be her father.

"I think it's safe to go home now," Sid said after a few minutes of excited planning – which was mainly Black Star boasting about how he was going to go in for the final kill. "Please stay with me this time on the way home – I don't want to have to go hunting for children again."

He shot a glare at Kid, who simply shrugged it off. Last time they had gone to a new location to train, Kid had gotten distracted by the uneven trees that were obviously planted. He had taken Liz and Patty and, in attempt to remove a few so that the path was perfect in his eyes, shot his soul wavelength at them until they fell over. Of course, this was after a good thirty minutes of crying, so it took a bit until Sid was able to locate him.

Maka was silent most of the way home. For once, she enjoyed Black Star's obnoxious conversations and Kid's mind numbing opinions. They helped keep her thoughts at a stand still so that she didn't show too much emotion around them. She liked to save those for the safety of her bedroom – the surrounding four walls put a large barrier between the rest of the world and her.

The time came when it was just Soul, Maka, Kid, and the Thomson sisters. The other's houses were all along the way – Kid's mansion was furthest along.

"I cannot wait to shower," Liz mumbled as she studied her hands closely. Her lips curled up in disgust as she noticed the dirt caked under her nails. She immediately went to picking at them.

"Me, too," Maka agreed as she lifted her duller than usual pigtail and studied it. Her eyes scanned it carefully; she made sure to give each strand specific attention. Her emotions were beginning to burst at the seams – she felt her face growing hot as tears threatened to spill out – and she wanted more than anything for it to stop.

Suddenly, she lost her balance and stumbled forward. Her hands flew out in front of her to brace herself, but there was no need. Soul quickly caught her and balanced his partner back on her feet and frowned – Maka wasn't the one to be clumsy unless she was nervous or upset.

He looked at Kid and his weapons and nodded for them to go on ahead. They understood and said their quick goodbyes – the three were gone before Maka looked up.

When she did, Soul immediately ruled out nervousness. Her face was twisted in a way that only appeared when she was holding back the waterworks and her cheeks were flushed bright red. Her green eyes swam in tears that had yet to spill as her bottom lip trembled like an earthquake. He felt her hands grip onto his shirt for support – he was certain it was in more ways than the obvious.

"Hey," he said quickly as he tugged her into an empty ally way. "We'll be okay."

"But what about my mother, Soul?" she whispered hoarsely as she choked back tears. "She's got this person inside of her, controlling her. It must be hell – she's not a bad person at all!"

"She'll be okay, too. You heard the others. We'll do research, ask Shinigami-sama questions about this, and maybe even peek into that stupid spell book if we have to. No matter what we're doing, we'll do it together, alright?" He frowned as Maka's tears started to flow; he hadn't seen her cry since the night he was injured.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she rubbed her eye vigorously in embarrassment. "You can call me a baby if you want."

"Nah, that ain't cool." Soul smiled as he helped his now dry eyed friend up once more. "Maybe later. Let's go home."

The two best friends walked home in their usual silence, but it was a bit different this time. Maka was softly crying, ducking her head so that Soul couldn't tell, and Soul was pretending not to notice for her sake. He wanted to comfort her, but only if it was welcome. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable or embarrassed despite the fact that she was doing it to herself…

When they arrived inside of their apartment, Maka was half asleep. She stumbled her way to the bathroom and shut the door. Soul walked to the kitchen and grabbed a drink, taking a few sips, and put it back. He heard the water running to the shower and sighed – he would just take one in the morning.

When he was passing the counter, he noticed Maka had written something to him on their note pad. He leaned over it curiously and huffed in aggravation at the words. His dad had called. Much like the last calls, Soul wasn't going to return it. He decided to come to Shibusen for a reason, and that reason was getting away from his father.

He scuffed over lazily to his room, growing slightly irate with each step. Why did Maka have to go through so much? It didn't make sense and it didn't seem very fair. Why did his dad have to call once a month even though he knew Soul wasn't going to return his calls? Why didn't his mother ever call? He'd gotten one a few days after the Christmas before last, but he wasn't able to return it right away because he was still recovering. When he was finally able to, his mother had already skipped that town and ghosted to wherever tickled her fancy next. It was absolutely frustrating.

He sighed as he entered his room and shut the door soundly behind him. As he was kicking his shoes off, he froze. He definitely wasn't alone.

His crimson eyes slowly made their way to his bed where a figure was perched. The window in his room was wide open and a soft breeze was blowing in. He felt his hand up the wall without removing his eyes from the figure and flipped the light switch, his heart pounding at what he saw.

There, sitting on his bed, was Maka's mother.

"What the hell?" he shouted as he scrambled for his door again. For some reason, his stupid hands wouldn't grasp the knob properly so he couldn't open it. Giving up, he turned towards the witch and snarled. "Don't you dare touch Maka."

"Oh relax, I'm not here for Maka," the woman said as she puffed away a long bang from her face. She leaned back on her arms and flashed Soul a wicked smile. "I wanted to talk to you. Just talk. I swear I have no tricks up my sleeve. I have to be quick since her Soul Perception has grown stronger."

"For some reason I'm not comforted at all," Soul muttered as he planted his back against the door. Maybe if he pushed hard enough, it would cave in the opposite way it opened… He doubted it, but it was better than standing there like an idiot in the same room as the witch he was training to kill.

"You know, Soul, you're not too bad on the eyes," Kami purred – or was it Medusa? "The Albarn women seem to have good taste in both men and partners. If I remember, Spirit was quite the looker, too."

"Sorry, I don't go for old hags like you, so don't bother hitting on me," Soul snapped. His mind didn't even want to process what the long haired witch had said about Maka's perverted father.

"I see you like getting straight down to business then…" Medusa said slowly as she patted the empty spot on her bed next to her. "Please, sit closer. If Maka senses that you're huddled so close to the door she'll know something's wrong."

"Yeah? And what's so wrong about that?"

"I don't want her knowing something is wrong." The way Medusa said her words made Soul comply without anymore hesitation. The last thing he wanted was for Maka to…

"So what do you want?" Soul said coldly as he sat as far away from the witch as possible. She noticed, but instead of getting annoyed like most people would, her smile grew larger.

"I want to make a deal with you, Soul Evans."

"Don't call me by my family name! How do you even know that?"

"Oh, I know more about yourself than you probably do," Medusa replied. Her thin fingers danced over the black laced jacket she was wearing as her green eyes held a teasing glint.

"Well let's hear this deal," Soul said with a hard voice. "No promises, though. I don't usually bargain with the devil."

"I think you'd find me to be very persuasive…" The snake tattoo on Kami's arm danced wildly until the head was floating next to her own menacingly. Her eyes cut suddenly, showing that she was ready for business. "I want you resign as Maka's partner."

"What?" Soul almost shouted. "You're insane – I would never do something like that!"

"I also want you to completely cut her out of your life," Medusa continued as if Soul had never objected. She paused and gave him a look from the corner of her eye. "Or else."

"There is nothing you could do that could make me do that," Soul snarled. "Ever."

"You'd be surprised!" Medusa disagreed. She moved close enough to have her face just a foot away from Souls – it was too close for his comfort. "I happen to know a few of your most important things."

"Go ahead and take them. I have none."

"Your mother… What is her name? Claire? She's very pretty, you know. You look a lot like her."

"How do you know her?" Soul exploded and his red eyes grew wide at the witch's words. Not even Maka knew his mother's name.

"And your brother – Wes, I believe? How is he? Do you know?" Medusa continued to ignore him. It was obvious that she was enjoying the entertainment of the mind games to the fullest. "What about your father?"

"Leave them out of it… They don't even know that people like you exist." Soul's head hung low in defeat at the cheap shots, but he still refused to give in. If he didn't even know where his mother was, surely Medusa didn't either. His brother Wes and his father were always touring and constantly surrounded by people at all times, she'd never be able to get to them. He was either overly confident or lying to himself, but either way he wasn't going to leave Maka's side.

"I see," Medusa said slowly, realizing what he was thinking. She allowed a dramatic, heavy sigh to escape her lips and made her eyes a pitiful size. "Poor, poor Maka. It's a shame that you love her so much."

Soul's head snapped up and he glared fiercely at the witch beside him. A fire burned inside and he knew he was going to erupt at any given moment. This woman knew absolutely nothing about him and his feelings towards Maka. He was going to destroy her. He felt his left arm turn into a scythe blade and he raised it up to her chin without hesitation.

"If you hurt her, I swear on your life –"

"Did I strike a nerve?" Medusa laugh was bitter and it didn't settle in Soul's stomach. It stopped suddenly as she reached out and grabbed a trinket that Maka had gotten him for his birthday two years ago. It was a stupid figure of some historical guy she had read a biography on for Sid's class and said that he reminded her of Soul. Medusa toyed with it between her fingers lazily, as if her life wasn't in danger at all.

"You see, Soul Eater Evans," Medusa began slyly as a smile slithered onto her face again. "If Maka is with me and not at Shibusen, she is a very useful pawn in my little plan. She has potential to be a stronger witch than even her mother, you know. Quite impressive for being only a half-blood…" Her smile faded as she clutched the figure tightly in her hands. "If she stays with you, Maka is useless to me. Do you know what I hate more than anything else?"

Her hand wrapped around the figure even tighter until there were a few loud cracks. When she reopened her hand, nothing but dust and a few broken bronze limbs lay in her palm. Her green eyes looked up sharply at Soul.

"I hate useless things with a passion."

"What are you saying?" Soul said darkly as he lowered his gaze at the witch. He felt his heart race in fury at what he figured she was implying, but he wanted her to say it before he killed her. In that moment, he didn't care how innocent Kami was in this. He didn't care if he killed them both. He'd never felt so worked up before.

"I'm saying that if you don't do exactly as I say, I can assure you that Maka will not live to see her sixteenth birthday."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater.

**A/N:** Keep up the awesome reviews! This is why SoulxMaka is in the summary... ;)

Thanks to my wonderful beta ToastWeaselofDOOM!

* * *

Soul's head dropped in utter defeat towards Medusa – the witch that had taken over Kami's body. She had given him an ultimatum that no matter which choice he made, he would get people around him hurt.

Either he lied and told Maka that he no longer wanted to be her weapon, or he let her be killed. It was an easy enough decision in retrospect, but the more he thought about it, the larger the dread in his heart grew. He wanted to do neither; he wanted to just kill the witch sitting on his bed, but he couldn't. Medusa was the one doing the evil things and by killing her, he would also kill Maka's mother whom she loved.

He was completely helpless.

"Why are you making me do this?" he mumbled as he ran his hands through his hair. He pressed against his eyes in attempt to lessen the pounding headache that had started, but it didn't work. This was a complete three-sixty degree turn from cool.

"Are you saying that you're actually considering throwing Maka in the path of death?" Medusa mocked a gasp and laughed silently. "That's horrible, even to me."

"I'm saying this whole thing is stupid," Soul growled viciously before softly adding, "I can't leave Maka's side."

The raw honesty in his voice shocked him. When he first heard the so called deal, he immediately knew that he would have to leave Maka, but the more he imagined that moment, the more he knew it was impossible. Over the years he had grown so incredibly close to her it scared him. He had always been in his own world and never allowed anyone in far enough to get to know the real Soul Evans, until there was Maka. She burst through his walls and handcuffed them together with a smile that stole his heart.

People were always put off by his demon like appearance. His snow white hair, harsh crimson eyes, and sharp teeth weren't the most inviting features, but he had met Maka in the dark.

"What I said earlier about you loving her was just a shot in the dark, but it seems that I hit bulls-eye," Medusa concluded after a fit of silence. She clicked her tongue. "Cute."

"No, you're wrong," Soul said quickly as his head shot up and his eyes narrowed. He wasn't going to show any more vulnerability like that. "We have a weapon and meister bond that can't be replaced. I have to protect her no matter what…"

"Soul, I'm a very patient person," Medusa purred. "I can wait a very, very long time for something I want. Do you know how long I waited for this body? Twelve years. I waited even longer for Maka." She sighed. "But, you see, my patience is wearing a bit thin now. All my steps in this plan are set except for one – Maka."

Soul was quiet again. What was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to agree to forfeit his partnership with Maka without much of a fight? It didn't seem right. I was so wrong and so uncool that it was starting to annoy him at a level that he had never been at before. He was pissed at the witch Medusa for forcefully throwing this situation on him and he was pissed at himself for thinking twice about leaving Maka.

"Think of it this way," Medusa continued as her now golden eyes darted to the door. Maka would be getting out of the shower any minute. "Would Maka be happier here – a place where she has to hide her true self – or with me? I would let her mother out every now and then; you've seen me do it before. I'm a reasonable woman. If you're willing to make compromises, then so am I. Do you really want her blood on your hands because you were selfish?"

An image of Maka being killed flashed through Soul's mind and his fists clenched tightly. There was only one answer.

"Fine. I'll tell her that I don't want to be her weapon anymore."

"I thought you would see things my way." Medusa smiled as a snake like arrow flicked out of her mouth. She closed her eyes and emptied her expression. When she opened her eyes, they were green once more and the woman Soul had seen in photographs was now sitting on his bed. She looked at him with sad, green eyes for a frozen moment before leaping out of the open window.

She was a prisoner in her own body.

Soul shifted his body so that his back was pressed against his headboard and he sighed loudly. A slow smile crept up on his lips as he thought of how stupid the witch was to trust him. Did he really look like an idiot? He was the super cool Soul Eater. He wouldn't let a cowardly witch who didn't even have a body of her own make him leave his partner.

A soft knock sounded at his door and he jumped. He looked at his door and stayed silent, hoping that Maka wouldn't walk in without being invited like she did sometimes. He heard her pause and saw her shadow creep from the gap underneath his door before she knocked again. Again, he ignored her.

"I guess you're asleep," she finally said. "Night, Soul."

He frowned. There was no way Maka actually thought he was asleep. His eyes grazed the clock; it was only nine. He briefly wondered if she told him goodnight after he had fallen asleep a lot.

A cold chill ran up his spine as a gust of wind tore into his room, ruffling various papers. He stood up and closed the window that had obviously been opened by Medusa when he noticed a small wormlike arrow on his window sill. He picked it up curiously with his thumb and index finger and held it up to his face. A small, sharp pain shot through his right cheek as the arrow struck at him. He quickly tossed the odd thing out of the window and touched the tender area where he had been nicked.

When he brought his hand away he saw blood. It was an odd color – much darker then the red he usually saw coming out of him – but it was undoubtedly blood.

"Nice try," he spat at the wind as he slammed the window shut as hard as he could. It looked exactly like the arrows that leaked out of Medusa's mouth whenever she smiled wide enough. He touched the spot where the arrow had gotten him again and frowned.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and curled his upper lip, turning around. He gasped when he saw that the arrow had found its way back into his room and somehow multiplied. Or had there been more than the lonely one on his window the whole time? How had he missed Medusa doing this?

He scooped up the thirty or so arrows and winced as each one pricked him at least twice. He fumbled to open the window once more with his shoulder and threw the biting things out quickly. Before he shut the window this time, he looked around the room or any more. Finding none he sighed and closed the window once more, hoping it would be his final time.

He walked over and flopped down on his bed. His eyebrows were knitted closely together as he mulled over the conversation that had just happened. Just a few moments ago he was so sure that he would be able to somehow outsmart the witch, but now realization was setting in that he had no clue how he would go about doing it.

What was he going to do, anyways? He was just a third year student, not a Death Scythe. He was no match against a witch, not even in the mental sense. The easiest, and unfortunately the only, way was to do as she said… But add his twist on things.

He meant what he said about not being able to leave Maka's side, and that was how it was going to be. He was sure Medusa would find the appeal in the fact that the witch she sought after was also a technician, and he was going to make it worth her while. Even if it meant that he was going to help the enemy, and in the end become the enemy himself, he was going to protect Maka.

He didn't become a Shibusen student for the right reasons anyways.

* * *

"Soul, we have exams in two weeks," Maka grunted as she gave her sleeping partner a kick in the leg closest to her. "Stop sleeping in class!"

"I'm not sleeping!" Soul snapped as he opened one eye to glare at the mousey-haired meister. "Can't I just sit my head down for a while without being abused by you?"

"You're going to fail this class, and that means that I fail, too, jerk!" she hissed angrily as she gave Soul a harder kick this time. "Don't be so selfish."

"I'm not selfish," Soul growled in a low tone, surprising his partner. She hadn't meant for it to offend him so much, but by the looks of his reaction, it had. Why had he been in such a sour mood all day? Maka wanted to ask him, but that usually set him off even more. He liked to claim that he never lost his cool, especially at times when he had.

"Maka chop."

"What the hell?" Soul hissed as he grabbed his head. The other students around them stared and laughed to themselves – they always enjoyed seeing the partners argue. "What did I do?"

"I don't know what's wrong with you, but you better cheer up," she explained as she shot him a sidelong glance.

"So the best way to make me do that is it hit me with a book?" Soul looked at his hand to make sure there was no blood, which thankfully there wasn't.

"The great Black Star has arrived!" a voice boomed as the double doors flew open with a bang. The blue haired assassin walked proudly with his hands on his hips and his head held high. He scanned the room full of students until his eyes landed on Soul and Maka and he flashed them a large grin and thumbs up. "Perfect timing, right, Tsubaki?"

"We're thirty minutes late, Black Star…" Tsubaki replied in a hushed tone as she rushed in. Her cheeks were flushed and she was panting from obviously chasing after her enthusiastic partner. She shifted her gaze to the silent classroom as people stared and ducked her head in embarrassment.

"Exactly! We have a bigger audience now! If we came on time, not everyone would notice my presence, and that just isn't acceptable!" Black Star bent back and laughed hysterically.

"Black Star, Tsubaki, please have a seat!" Sid exclaimed in an exasperated voice. He had grown used to the ninja's antics to the point where he expected them, so he made sure the class wasn't doing too much at the time.

"Sorry, sorry," Tsubaki apologized feverishly as she made her way to her usual seat next to her partner. She sighed when she noticed that Black Star was also hitting people on top of the head by accident as he was swinging his fists happily. She whispered apologies on her partner's behalf to the injured victims in embarrassment, but kept walking.

"Nice entrance," Soul complimented with a sloppy smile. The interruption had moved eyes off of him and caused people to forget all about his low moment, which he was thankful for. It definitely wasn't cool to be hit so many times by a girl, especially in front of his peers.

"I know!" Black Star agreed full heartedly and let out another loud guffaw. He plopped down in his seat following Tsubaki's instructions and gave Soul a high five.

"Unnecessarily loud, as usual," Kid mumbled with a shake of his head. He and Maka shared a quick sympathetic expression – they both felt exactly the same. He was grateful for the distraction as Sid picked up the lesson where he left off and went back to tending to the title page of his notes. He couldn't get the 'o' to look perfectly spherical and it was driving him insane.

Soul started to tap his pencil subconsciously as he thought about a few things he needed to talk to Maka about. He had wanted to do it first thing in the morning, but she looked so… smiley. He couldn't bring himself to damper her day so early on in it, so he kept quiet. When exactly is the right time to tell someone you traded their freedom for their life?

In the back of his mind, he heard Liz pop her gum obnoxiously multiple times, disrupting his thoughts. In order to tune her out, he started tapping his pencil louder and focused on only the clicks the eraser made when it made contact with the desk. He counted lightly in his head with each clack.

Another challenger entered as Black Star began humming an unknown tune. Lately he had been trying to become his own soundtrack, so random songs and bursts of loud hums were expected these days. Soul tapped his pencil louder and sighed. No one wanted him to work out his problem it seemed.

"Enough!" Kid shouted in an unusually high pitched shout. "Please, stop it! All of you!" To add dramatic effect, the young death god dropped to the ground with a thud, holding his ears and blocking him from the small, yet maddening noises his so called friends were making. They each had their own quirks, but today his nerves were shot and he didn't want to deal with it.

"Stay like that forever," Black Star suggested with an eye roll. Though it was true that, for the most part, he had accepted Kid, there were times where he became annoyed at the wimpy death god.

"I think I might," Kid replied in a weak voice. "I'm scum, aren't I? I can't even remember if I folded the toilet paper this morning correctly. I'm pathetic… Depressed… I'll never be a good Shinigami."

"Cheer up, Kid-kun!" Patty exclaimed as she gave her emotional partner a hard pat on the back. "You're not a worthless piece of trash!"

"I never said that I was a worthless piece of trash!" Kid wailed miserably. "You think that, don't you, Patty?"

The younger girl blinked in surprise a few times before having her infamous laughing attacks. "Big Sis, Kid is broken again! Fix him quick!"

Liz sighed and stopped chewing on her gum. Lately Patty was able to pry the young death god out of his tantrums, but it seemed she failed this time. She knew her partner had his faults the moment she agreed to his overly strange request that time in the warehouse, but he had given her sister a chance at a somewhat normal, comfortable life. Not to mention herself.

"You know Patty's idea of cheering up is repeating exactly what she said last time," Liz convinced as she gave the Shinigami-in-training a small pat on the leg. "You're not scum, and you're going to be a great Shinigami. Kay?"

"Do you really think that?" Kid asked with stars in his golden eyes as he looked up at one of his weapons.

"Have I ever been known to lie?" she asked proudly with a soft smile. She saw Kid pause as alarm crossed his face at the question, so she quickly hit him before he could say anything aloud. "Regardless of what you remember, I'm being one hundred percent honest now."

"Now sit down and do your work," Patty growled darkly. Her friends we all taken back in silent surprise at the fierceness in her voice, but she killed the moment by bursting into a fit of laughter. It didn't change the fact that Kid jumped back into his seat without a second thought.

Soul looked suspiciously at Patty, who was sitting next to him, and scooted over a few inches away from her in his seat. His arm made contact with Maka and he jumped.

"What is with you today?" Maka mumbled as she pushed her annoying partner away. "Stop acting so weird."

"I'm not acting weird," Soul snapped. "This is how a cool guy acts. You wouldn't know anything about that."

"You're right, I wouldn't," Maka replied in an equally harsh tone as she eyed Soul questionably. He knew his efforts were useless on getting her to believe nothing was wrong. It was kind of hard to hide the fact that _everything_ was wrong.

Before he could reply, the low bell rang out its usual tone signaling that class was over. He sighed with relief – the time he had to think to himself was driving him mad. It was short lived, however, when he remembered that he had to tell her about the encounter with her possessed mother now. He had no other excuse not to.

The conversation still rang clear in his mind. He didn't want to admit it, but Medusa had understandable points. Without even realizing, Maka did, too. He was being completely selfish about this, within reason of course, but what right did he have? If he played any tricks, it was almost inevitable that Maka would die. The only choice he seemed to have was to let his partner go…

He'd be damned if it wasn't her free will, though.

"So are you actually going to go to History of Souls Lab with me today?" Maka teased, remembering how he had reacted to Hiro. She didn't mention to him that he had a conversation with the boy he didn't recognize before… He always got annoyed when she made him feel stupid, even though it made her laugh.

"No," Soul replied before shifting his red eyes onto her. "Neither are you."

"What?" Maka blinked crossly as she gathered her books. "You might think skipping class is cool, but I don't! It's the opposite of cool, actually!" She continued her rant. Soul was half ignoring her, and she knew it, but it didn't stop her from speaking her mind. Despite her words, she was following him right out of the school and into the street where his bike was parked. "Do you really want to fail? There have been no Death Scythes the history of Death Scythes to flunk out of Shibusen – even my stupid papa passed!"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about…" Soul said slowly when they approached his motorcycle. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and scuffed at the ground. He looked around quickly to see if anyone was within ear shot, but they had left school at a time that no one else was. It wasn't ideal, but it was a decent enough place to start the conversation.

His mind suddenly grew cloudy. He felt his mouth open and words sound out, but he wasn't the one saying them. "I don't want to be a student here anymore."

He heard her small gasp, but he made sure not to have his eyes anywhere near her. He trained his eyes hard on the handle bars of the orange motorcycle and jumped on quickly. Hardening his expression he looked at Maka over his shoulder blankly.

"We can talk about it more at home."

She nodded solemnly and complied – her expression wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be. He couldn't help but smile; it was pretty uncool of him to think that he meant that much to her. He was just her weapon, nothing more.

The thought made him frown. Where had that even come from? He'd never thought something like that before. Deep down, he knew it wasn't true, but the more dominate part of it believed it with a passion. A pang shot through his chest which caused him to waver slightly on the streets as they rode a little faster than usual. His heart pounded behind his ribcage as it threatened to burst out. What was happening?

They were silent during the ride to the apartment complex – Maka didn't even chide him for driving recklessly like she usually did. Her arms didn't hold him as close and she didn't rest her chin on his back like always. She was distancing herself already.

When they got inside of their apartment, Maka immediately exploded.

"What the hell do you mean you don't want to be a Shibusen student anymore? Have you lost your mind? Want to know my first thought? My first thought was Soul has got to be joking – there's no way he's that stupid. I expected to see your stupid smile and hear your stupid laugh, but I didn't. Then I realized you were serious and now I'm pissed! You have eighty six souls right now! Why do you want to stop when you're so freaking close?"

After a few minutes of her huffing, Soul simply shrugged.

"Are you done?"

Maka blinked and frowned. "Yeah. I'm done."

"Will you hear me out now?" He treaded over to the couch in font of the TV and plopped down, motioning for Maka to follow.

"Yeah. I'll hear you out." She followed his path quickly and sat down, studying his face carefully. His white hair covered the important part of his face – his always-tell-all eyes – and his mouth was in a tight line. She wasn't sure what to think at that moment, so she figured hearing him explain further about how his mind worked wasn't such a bad idea.

"I never told you the story when I decided to join Shibusen, did I?" He didn't want for her to reply. "I wasn't like you… My intentions were pretty stupid. I just wanted to get away from my dad and waking up as a weapon was my ticket out." His words were painfully truthful and they poured out before he could filter anything. It was almost as if… he wasn't the one talking at all. "I went along with the whole Death Scythe thing because I wanted people to see me as the perfectly cool guy that I am and you seemed –"

He clamped his mouth shut. That wasn't him at all. It looked like he had lost all motor skills to his vocal chords. A sharp pain shot up his chest and he groped at it with a hiss.

"Soul? Soul!" Maka jumped up and hovered her hands over him. She hesitated because she wasn't sure what to do nor did she understand what was wrong, but soon it became apparent that the object of his discomfort was his scar. She crouched down and looked up at him, frowning at his strained expression.

"Lift up your shirt," she instructed quickly. There were only a small handful of reasons as to why his scar was hurting now – after over a year of receiving it – and she wanted to see the answer herself. When Soul seemingly ignored her – he was still clasping his chest and breathing hard – so she did it herself.

A small gasp escaped her lips at the sight.

There were tiny organisms that Maka had never seen before digging and prodding with his now irritated scar. They each looked carefully placed at the old stitch marks while they were weaving in and out. It was disgusting.

"Soul, what… What have you been doing?" She reached out slowly to touch the oddities on his chest, but he swatted her hand away before she had the chance.

"Damn Medusa," he cursed under his breath as he quickly removed one of the arrows from skin and winced. His eyes widened as they flew up to look at Maka – had he really said that loud enough for her to hear?

"Medusa?"

He definitely had. Score one for Soul.

"It's nothing, forget it," he mumbled as he stood slowly. He walked over to the window that was in the kitchen while continuing to pick out the tiny living arrows out of his scar. He assumed they were the reason he was feeling like he was losing control of himself. How long had they been in there and what else did they make him say? He opened the window with his shoulder – it wasn't locked – and tossed the bothersome parasites out as quickly as they could.

"How can you tell me that it's nothing?" Maka asked as she rushed over to her partner. He was trying to put back on his shirt, but she stopped him and stooped closer to inspect the infected area. She glanced back up at him curiously. "Don't lie to me."

She was concerned, but she was trying not to let it show. It was obvious that she had figured out Medusa was linked to his sudden confession and he felt relieved. Whatever Medusa had done to him was gone now and he can do what he planned to do to begin with.

"Last night Medusa came to me," Soul said slowly as he awkwardly put his shirt back on. Now that he had control over his words, he was at a complete loss as to what to say. "She gave me a choice."

"A choice?" Maka asked as she furrowed her brow. "You have to be more specific."

"Either I told you I didn't want to be your weapon anymore or…" He died off.

"Or what? You're really starting to annoy me. Just spit it out already, stupid!" Maka didn't sound annoyed though, just stressed. She'd tried her best to continue to continue the day as if she didn't discover what she did the day before, but it was harder than she thought. Now with this… She didn't know if she was going to be able to keep up her façade or not.

"She told me if I didn't do what she wanted she was going to kill you."

For what seemed like the hundredth time in that hour, Maka was speechless.

"Maybe it was best to just go along with what that old hag wanted," Soul sighed as he pursed his lips. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and looked at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing he'd seen in years. "I can't keep something like that from you though."

"Idiot! When did this happen? Why didn't you call for me?" Maka raised her voice as she clenched her fists. "Please tell me you hurt her."

"That isn't the point, Maka! Besides, if I hurt her, I would hurt your mother. We don't know enough about this sharing a body thing to act yet." Soul paused as he ran an exasperated hand through his hair. "Aren't you the least bit worried that your life is being threatened right now?"

"What makes it so different from yesterday? Or the day before? Every day people talk about killing me. Why should this be so much different?" Maka replied blankly. "I want to know why she wants us to stop being partners so badly, though."

"She didn't tell me straight up, but it sounded like it was a plan to get you to leave Shibusen." He couldn't help but feel like the biggest captain obvious at that moment.

"Well it's not a very good plan," Maka mumbled with a frown before looking back up at her partner. "We have to tell the others."

"You're so stubborn… It's a really stupid thing to not feel fear, you know," Soul huffed as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Who said I didn't feel fear?" Maka asked quietly. Her green eyes finally met Soul's and he could really see the emotions she'd been trying to hide from him since the night before. She was a wreck. Outside, she looked like she normally did. Her dirty blonde hair tied up in pig tails, her forced smile was natural looking as always, and her expressions never betrayed what she was feeling inside.

Her eyes, however, were a different story completely.

They were dull and sad. The usual spark that ignited them was gone and instead replaced by nothingness. It made Soul feel uneasy. He'd never seen his technician look like that before. He'd always thought she was inhuman – in the nicest way possible, of course – for being thrown through so much and being able to keep going through the thick despair. It seemed that he'd been wrong about her, though.

Maka was human, just like him. She was human and she was hurting. Just like him.

Before he could stop himself, he felt his arms moving up and he grabbed her shoulders, tugging her closer to him. Her eyes widened for a moment and she resisted, but soon she allowed herself to be brought into an embrace. Her heart pounded in her chest so hard that he felt it himself and held her tighter.

He'd never been one to show emotions, and neither was Maka. Seeing her so raw like that brought out something inside of him he never knew existed.

"S-Soul? What…" she whispered as she stared wide eyed at the wall in shock. The hug felt strange – it was packed with electricity, sorrow, pity, and… passion – but she didn't push herself away like her mind was screaming at her to do. She couldn't. She _wouldn't_. Instead she clung to his shirt much like the night before and breathed him in heavily. His scent was comforting.

She'd never had many best friends before and she was inexperienced in what the title entailed, so she assumed that it was how you felt when your best friend tried to bring up your spirits. She smiled and closed her eyes, breathing him in again and allowing it to fill her lungs.

She felt his hand move from around her shoulders to under her chin and lift her head up to face him. His eyebrows were knitted together and his face was in complete concentration – his expression was a seriousness she'd never seen on him before – as he moved closer. Her breathing hitched and she felt her eye lids flutter on instinct. Her heart pounded in her ears as she stared at her partner from the slits of her eyes as his face grew nearer.

His minty breath blew on her heating skin. He was so close. Was this something best friends did, too?

No. Maka knew that answer. She was inexperienced, but she wasn't stupid.

Suddenly the door burst open, and just like that, the moment was gone and the two jumped away from each other like they were on fire.

"What the hell?" Soul shouted at Black Star who ran in quickly, followed closely by a laughing Patty. "Why doesn't anyone ever knock in this city?"

"Sorry, sorry!" Tsubaki apologized as she stuck her head in the door. She looked over at her blue haired partner who was ignoring Soul and rolled her eyes. "I know it's a bit useless asking now, but may we come in?"

"No!" Soul exclaimed. He instinctively reached out to grab Maka, but she dodged his hand like it was a bullet and waved for the shadow weapon to enter.

"Yeah, come in! It's okay!" Her voice sounded overly cheerful and was a bit shaky – it was obvious she was throwing on a façade, and a large one at that.

Soul slouched and put his hands back into his pockets. Maybe he had just imagined the moment before. It probably wasn't a moment at all. As much as he bragged, he had no knowledge of what situations like that were like…

Realization of what had just happened hit him like a brick wall. He'd never hugged Maka so closely before and he'd never had the urge to kiss her, so why…?

"Nice to see your living environment is still clean," Death the Kid mentioned passively as he walked in; Liz was on his heels. He shot Soul a sideways glance. "It must be tiring."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Soul exploded angrily. His pent up emotions soared out as he shook a fist at the death god. "Why don't you just go die, you stupid Shinigami!"

"As much as I agree with you, you're acting weird," Black Star mentioned as he looked at his scythe friend out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm not," Soul objected stubbornly as he flattened his expression. "It's not cool to enter someone's place without asking."

Maka glanced quickly at her partner, but when their eyes met, she looked away just as fast. She took a deep breath – she needed to tell the others what Soul had just told her.

"Medusa came to Soul last night to strike a deal," Maka said slowly in a casual tone. "Either I leave Shibusen or she kills me." She shrugged. "I don't plan on either happening, but I thought you guys would want to know."

"Wait, what?" Liz blinked as she looked up from the manga she was hunched over. She had just gotten into a new series that was packed with romance – she had admittedly fallen for the main character. "Medusa threatened to kill you?"

"I'll kill _her_," Black Star grumbled darkly. "Who does she think she is? Why didn't you take care of her, Soul?"

"If I killed her, I would kill Kami," Soul replied dubiously. Wasn't that answer obvious? "I can't do that, and neither can any of you."

"There has to be another way…" Kid said thoughtfully. "We can't allow this to continue any longer. I just wish I knew what she was planning."

"Me, too," Tsubaki agreed with a frown. They had been training for so long to fight this witch and whatever she threw at them, but at what expense? What were they up against? It was a blind battle – Medusa had the upper hand here.

"If only we had a spy or something," Liz said absently, thinking out loud.

"You can be the spy, big sis! Those bastards would never see it coming!" Patty exclaimed happily as she attacked her sister in a large hug. "If no one can do it, you can!"

"What? No way! I wasn't serious, Patty! You think too much of me!" Liz exclaimed fearfully while waving her hands.

"Patty, you're a genius!" Black Star exclaimed as he grabbed the young weapon and gave her a hard shake, chiming in with her laughs for a moment. "Maka can be our spy!"

The others exploded with a chorus of disagreements at once, their eyes widening.

"What? No!" Kid said loudly with a large frown.

"Are you an idiot?" Soul huffed while rolling his eyes.

"Black Star, don't say things like that!" Tsubaki chided with a sigh.

"Actually," Maka said slowly, "I was planning on doing something like that."

The room went silent. Even Black Star, who had been scoffing at the objections, paused to look at his childhood friend with curious eyes. He hadn't given much thought to what he said – he often didn't – so he didn't expect any specific answer. He wasn't surprised, though. Maka had always had that sort of spark about her; it was the quality she had that proved her worthiness of his godly friendship.

"You can't be serious." Soul said finally. He tried to crack a smile at his partner's joke, but her expression remained humorless. She wasn't kidding around.

"Think about it," Maka persuaded. "What other choice do we have? You said it yourself, Soul – Medusa wants to kill me if I'm still in Shibusen. This way we can get what's best out of the situation."

"It does seem somewhat rational," Kid admitted reluctantly as he looked the scythe meister up and down, trying to figure out what was going through her calculating mind. It wasn't that he doubted her words; it just seemed that there was more to it than what she explained. Maka was always someone to think level headed about most things, but everyone has their weaknesses. It was apparent that hers was her mother. "I think we need to discuss this with the adults before we decide anything, though."

"There's nothing to decide," Soul growled. He couldn't believe his ears. Of all people, he'd expected Kid – the most serious person he knew next to Maka – to brush off the thought as something utterly stupid like he had, but that wasn't the case. The others seemed to be thinking it was an okay idea, as well. "An idea that came from Black Star is never a good one!"

"Watch how you speak about your god!" Black Star exclaimed. "You'll feel sorry you doubted my genius when this plan works out and a halo appears over me!"

"It's worth at least bringing up to the others…" Tsubaki said slowly, though she looked just as enthusiastic about it as Soul did. For that, he was glad.

"I guess we've got nothing to lose," Maka said lightly with a smile as she grabbed for the apartment key. "Let's go."

Soul frowned. Nothing to lose? She was insane. Maybe she didn't have much, but he had everything on the line here. If something ever happened to her because of this, he would never forgive himself. She was such a stupid woman.

* * *

"I see…" Stein said in a drawn out tone as he processed what Maka had just explained to him. All seven students had shown up at his doorsteps, but he had made everyone else wait outside except Soul and Maka so the story wouldn't get jumbled as it often did with the bickering teens. He cracked a smile.

"What's so funny?" Maka asked as she quirked an eyebrow.

"This just seems a bit too good to be true, don't you think? You aren't thinking about it enough, which is so out of character for you, Maka. This is a situation you need to over think and you jump to the nearest, most reckless solution." Stein inhaled his cigarette and gave it a tap, watching the ashes fall and land on his lab floor. He leaned back in his rolling chair and pursed his lips as he glanced away from his computer and looked at the pigtailed girl. "This plan, more than likely, isn't going to work out the way you see it now."

"Told you so," Soul couldn't help but mumble as he glared at the ground. Why wasn't Dr. Stein objecting more to this? He was just pointing out things that they already realized. He seemed to be the only sane one. "Where are Sid and Nygus? We need to ask them about this, too."

"They're on an assignment," Stein replied. "Of course, I can't make this decision for you – they're your true leaders. However…"

"If it were up to you, what would you chose?" Maka asked as she clutched her chest in anticipation. If Stein approved, then surely Sid would as well; maybe even Shinigami-sama. She wanted to do this so badly. Being the only one who was able to do something in this situation, she felt important for once. It didn't matter that she wasn't the strongest, or that she wasn't a death god. She was Maka and she was wanted by the witch Medusa. She could easily infiltrate whatever the snake was planning and bring her knowledge back to her team mates.

"If it were up to me," Stein continued thoughtfully, "I would say no. It's too risky and I don't think you're quite prepared enough for it."

Soul let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Eh?" Maka gasped. "But there isn't anyone else who is able to do this but me!"

"That may be true…" Stein paused. "As I said, it doesn't matter what I have to say in the end; unless they ask me."

"I understand," Maka muttered with a frown. "Thanks for hearing me out." She turned on the heel of her boot and walked out at a forcefully slow pace, slamming the door behind her before Soul could catch up.

"Soul," Stein called from his computer desk as he pinched his cigarette between his fingers and eyed the weapon through his glared glasses. "As her weapon, you have to do what she says."

"I know," Soul grunted as he, too, shut the door behind him harder than what was needed. He had gotten the answer he wanted and Maka seemed a little less enthusiastic about the so-called plan – wasn't that what he wanted? So why did he still feel so frustrated?

"So the crazy doctor didn't approve I take it?" Black Star asked as he looked at Soul with his hands behind his head. The rest of the group had chased after a huffing Maka while he had stayed behind to wait for his friend. "I guess that's a good thing."

"It was your idea," Soul muttered as he rolled his red eyes.

"Yeah, but then I started thinking…"

"I'm shocked."

"I started thinking," the blue haired ninja continued as he ignored Soul, "that if Maka did something that big then the biggest topic of conversation wouldn't be about me!"

Soul let an exasperated sigh out as he looked over questionably at his friend. The assassin held a cheesy grin and a wink to show that there was a small part of him that was just joking around. Soul couldn't help but to flash a bit of his sharp teeth in reply.

They caught up to the rest of the group with ease – both Soul and Black Star rivaled each other in the speed area, unless Black Star cheated and used Speed Star. Soul noted that Maka was in a stubborn silence while the rest of their friends were laughing and talking as if the moments before had never even happened. To them, it was a failed brainstorm, but to Maka… She had already begun mapping out everything in her mind. Soul could see the wheels still turning in her head despite the let down Dr. Stein had given them, they were just moving a bit slower.

He stared at his partner for a few beats before a memory of their moment alone in the kitchen flashed through his mind. With the notion they had brought to Dr. Stein, he'd forgotten all about it, but now the feelings hit him like a brick wall again. Not knowing how else to deal with it, he shoved his hands far into his pockets and stared at the ground in silence.

Maka must have thought he was some crazy hormonal boy she always complained about. What on earth did she think about this? Hell, _he_ didn't know what to think about it. He did the one thing that she resented her perverted father for. Was that why she was trying to get away? He frowned at the thought; it sounded too possible for his liking.

He thought back to the time where they had ran into her father, with his current arm candy of the day, while shopping and the conversation between the partners that followed.

"Did you hear that?" Maka mumbled partly to herself. "He called her his friend. _Friend_. Yeah, right."

"Maybe they were just friends," Soul offered uselessly in an unconvincing tone. He didn't believe it any more than Maka did.

"Papa doesn't know how to be friends with a woman," Maka snorted. Her face shifted into something thoughtful. "Actually, I don't know any male past the age of sixteen who can just be friends with a girl. There's always some level of attraction there or else they won't feel… I don't know… whatever you men like to feel."

"I'm almost seventeen, and I'm just your friend!" Soul defended himself. "I've never thought of you anything more than that. Probably never will."

"Yet you still need to throw in the probably!" Maka exclaimed as she threw her hands up in exasperation. "There's not definite in your words because you're a guy and I'm a girl. There are no grey areas for you! You're either _friends_ with a girl because you like her, or she's your girlfriend."

"We're not all like your stupid father, you know," Soul sighed. He'd heard thousands of speeches similar to this one come from the younger girl, so he didn't get offended with them anymore. He'd trained himself to take what she said in stride; her usual frustrations about the male population were linked directly to her father.

"Yeah?" Maka pursed her lips and stopped walking like the thought hadn't crossed her mind before that moment. She looked at Soul for a long time before shrugging. "I guess not."

Too bad he didn't know then that, a year later, he would try to kiss that very girl for reasons unbeknownst to him. What was worse? Not being able to be friends with a girl or trying to kiss one you just saw as a friend? He didn't want to even think about Maka's answer.

Did he just see Maka as a friend? He had the total amount of zero girls as friends before he moved to Death City, so all of this was new to him. He definitely couldn't picture himself kissing Black Star – a person he considered a close friend as well – so why was it so easy to see himself like that with Maka? Was she right after all? Were guys – cool ones such as himself and lame ones such as the Death Scythe alike – incapable of having a girl as just a friend?

Some facts didn't add up, though. He saw Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty as friends but he couldn't see himself kissing them, much less hugging them.

Maka was different. She always had been. From the moment she barged into the piano room and requested that they become partners, he knew that much. She proved it by admitting that she was a witch to him and continued doing so by battling the sway of magic he knew provoked her soul every day. The most amazing feeling he had was the power their souls made when they did Soul Resonance and he was positive it wouldn't feel the same with anyone else.

Was it possible that he actually saw Maka as something more than a friend? Was it possible that he, the coolest guy in Death City and Shinigami's personal Death Scythe, had fallen in love with such a plain girl?

He immediately chided himself. Maka was far from plain. She was –

"Hello? Earth to Soul?" A tan hand waved in front of his face, breaking him from his thoughts. He blinked and looked at Black Star who was staring at him oddly. "We passed your apartment five minutes ago."

"Oh." It was all Soul managed to say before nodding a goodbye to the others and quickly turning around and walking in the direction of his apartment complex. His thoughts were too clouded to high five the desk clerk like he usually did, or wonder why Maka didn't wait for him this time. They always walked in together no matter what the distance between them was.

He went up the elevator and casually walked into the three roomed apartment to find clothes strewn all over the floor as if a tornado had ripped through. He slouched and narrowed his eyes at the sight – he was sure the house had been clean before they left. Why did it look like it had before Maka moved in? His eyes widened and he rushed to her room.

Maka was hunched over a bag and was dumping her entire wardrobe into it. She riffled through it and tossed out articles of clothing with a look of disgust while still keeping some. Her face was hard and determined.

"What are you doing?" Soul asked as he walked over and stood beside her. She continued about shoving her room into the bag as if he had always been there.

"Packing," she snapped distantly as she went over to her dresser. She opened the top drawer and pulled out all of her underwear, shoving it down along with everything else in the large bag?

"For what?" Soul figured he'd at least humor her for a bit before calming her down. She wasn't going to move out because of this, he knew it. She was just being a typical girl.

Maka stopped in the middle of her path and clutched a grey camisole that she had dug out of one of her drawers and trained her intense green eyes on her partner's face. A small frown met her lips and she sighed silently.

"I'm going whether anyone likes it or not, Soul. I'm going to be with my mother."

"What?" Soul shouted. "Did your brain fall out of her ears on the way here? Maka, what the hell?"

"Don't _what the hell_ me! This is the only way, Soul. You know it's the only way to get anything done. We've been just sitting here for an entire year doing nothing waiting for some stupid witch who is controlling my mother to do whatever she pleases. Sorry if you're too stupid to understand, but I can't let that go on any longer." Maka continued to pack, only this time her movements held violence.

"So that's it then? You're just going to leave? And go where, Maka? You don't even know where Medusa is. Are you just going to wander around the desert hoping they'll get you?" Soul sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he attempted to ward off a headache.

"That's the plan," Maka snapped as she cut her eyes.

"Idiot!"

"Bastard!"

"You're such a typical woman!"

"You're a pig-headed man!"

A feeling of urgency swept over him as he reached out and grabbed his partner by her shoulders again much like before. This time, he didn't hesitate and bring her into an embrace first; he collided his lips with hers hard.

He felt her lips tighten in surprise, but she didn't pull away. Taking this as an opportunity, he pressed more into the kiss. It took a few beats for her to react but when she finally did, it was laced with the same amount of urgency he held.

He traced her bottom lip with his tongue; it seemed to have been the right thing to do since her mouth parted and allowed him access. Her arms snaked up his neck and dove into his hair, giving it small tugs as she pushed herself closer to him. His head swam in ecstasy.

The kiss felt like it lasted for hours, but when they separated it seemed too soon. Maka's eyes were half closed as her chest heaved with heavy breaths. Soul's hands gave her shoulders that he'd never go of a small squeeze.

"Wait here," he said softly as he leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. He shoved his hands in his pockets and resumed his slouched figure as he walked out of the apartment.

Maka slowly picked up the camisole that had been dropped in the Soul's surprise ambush of his lips. She felt her cheeks heat up as she thought about what had just happened. One minute they had been fighting and the next Soul was kissing her. She touched her lips in a daze and felt them turn up in a smile – she had kissed him right back.

What did this mean?

The evening air sent a chill down Soul's spine as he exited the complex and walked into the alley way underneath the window to the kitchen. He crouched down and scanned the ground, thankful for the little light the setting sun was giving. He ran his hand over a small patch of grass that was peeking out of a crack in the asphalt. A pang shot through his hand and he immediately grabbed the source.

He brought the arrow up to his face and flashed his sharp grin.

"Yo, Medusa," he called in a low tone. "I know these things are more useful then controlling me. I've got a compromise." He paused and stared at the small snake to see if it would respond in any way. It wriggled around a bit more, but that was it, so he continued. "Maka will leave Shibusen, but she's not leaving alone. I'm her partner and that isn't going to change any time soon, got it? We're a package."

As he said that, he tossed the tiny arrow to the ground in disgust and wiped his hands on his jeans. He wasn't completely sure if his hunch was right about the tiny organisms being listening devices as well, but it didn't matter. If Maka wanted to leave so badly, it was going to be with him. He still wasn't sure of his feelings for her, but he was sure of that much.

He went back up to the apartment in the coolest stroll he'd ever had before with a stupid smile plastered on his face. When he caught his reflection in a fire extinguisher glass case, he wondered how people didn't find his smile off putting. It then dawned on him.

He had the same smile as the sadistic moon.

He opened the door and walked straight to Maka's room, noticing that she hadn't packed any more. He walked to her closet where their travel bags where stored and grabbed one.

"Might as well shove it all in there," he said as he noted the strewn clothes about the room. "That's what I'm doing."

"What?" Maka stuttered in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"As your weapon, I can't allow you to do something so stupid." Soul sighed before adding, "Alone."

* * *

"You're really okay with Soul joining Maka as well, Medusa-sama?" Eruka asked with wide eyes. Her lips where in a constant frown much like a frog's, but they weren't always that way. She used to smile.

"Of course, stupid girl," Medusa replied with a wicked smile. She took two large chunks of Kami's hair and twisted it in a peculiar fashion in front of her chest. She didn't like the long hair on this body, but Kami wouldn't allow her to do any severe changes to her body no matter what. Despite having her body taken over, her soul was still as strong as that day that still boiled Medusa's blood.

Well, now it was the blood she shared with Kami. But that was no matter.

"But we heard their plans of becoming spies! Wh-What if…" Eruka's bottom lip trembled. "Gecko. I prefer to not die by Shibusen's hands like my sister."

"Do you honestly believe that I would allow anything to happen that I didn't like?" Medusa questioned as she looked at the long haired witch from the corner of her eye. "Eruka… are you doubting me?"

"N-no, of course not!" Eruka stammered in fear, remembering the last strong willed person who had voiced their controversial opinion against Medusa's actions and how they screamed while she destroyed them.

"This is my game now. I'm the big bad wolf with a snake's spirit and they are nothing more than a bunch of field mice. Lab rats. Rodents. Don't you want to see Shibusen's downfall? Think of your sister… Think of the eldest Mizune sister…"

It was pathetic at how easily manipulated her favorite pawn was, but then again, Eruka would be useless otherwise.

"Fetch Crona," Medusa continued as she hardened her face. The internal screams were growing louder now. Damn that annoying woman. "It's our turn to have a welcome committee to our new member!"

She closed her eyes and shot her wavelength inside, silencing Kami and her objections to her daughter's now inevitable fate.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater

**A/N:** Now here's where the story gets a bit tricky… You'll probably see why. I'm introducing some controversial ideas such as Crona's gender, so let's be clear right now. To me, Crona is genderless and will probably always be that way. However, there aren't many personal pronouns other than 'it' that would be recognizable, so please just bear with me for the sake of the story! If it bothers you just change it in your mind haha.

I won't have a beta for a bit… I tried to fix all the mistakes I could find while going over it a few times, but alas.

Thank you for your reviews. They keep me happy and remind me to write (;

* * *

"Black Star, please, be quiet! Some people are still sleeping!" Tsubaki cried as she chased her screaming blue haired partner through the night kissed streets. She paused before correcting herself. "Most people, actually."

"It's their fault for not keeping up with me, the great Black Star! They will be pleased that I woke them – if not, I'll crush them with a mere look!" the ninja replied with a loud guffaw. "It's my turn to act as training alarm clock and I will do the best! I'll wake up everyone in Death City so they can watch in awe as we go into special training!"

"I wouldn't call it awe," Tsubaki said with a huff and an eye roll. She finally grabbed her enthusiastic partner around the collar of his shirt and dragged him down quickly before he could react. It was always hard controlling him due to his strength, but she developed somewhat of a system over the years. "Let's just go fetch Maka and Soul, 'kay? We're already late."

"Oh, yeah, okay," Black Star said slowly as he realized that his partner was right. He'd forgotten that he had to drag Kid out of his bathroom this morning. He had been too tired the night before to complete his usual nightly ritual of cleaning all ten bathrooms in his mansion before falling asleep, leaving three unfinished. He was determined to finish them before he left the house, but Black Star wasn't going to allow it.

There was a bit of a hassle, but Kid ended up forfeiting his cleaning weapons of mass destruction for the day. Black Star knew that he was probably going to run off in the middle of practice or something dumb like that, but he didn't care. It wasn't his job to babysit the pathetic excuse of a god.

He only yelled out his trademark _yahoo_ five times in the four blocks they had left to walk over to Soul and Maka's apartment complex; Tsubaki made a mental note to praise him later with a large dinner. She greeted the clerk and quickened her pace as she tried to keep up with her partner. He never liked taking the elevator and always chose the stairs, but she didn't mind it too much. They arrived at Soul and Maka's door at a decent time.

Black Star lifted his foot and gave the door a kick – hard enough to break open the lock, but not enough pressure to send it flying off of its hinges. She sighed – that would be yet another lock she would replace with her money.

"Yo, mortals! Wake up! Black Star has graced you with his –"

Tsubaki's loud gasp interrupted his good morning speech and he turned around to hush her with a glare. However, what he saw wasn't a chiding face, but an actual shocked one has it looked at a shaking piece of paper. Black Star watched as Tsubaki brought up her hand to her gaping mouth and closed her eyes.

"Do they have weird things like eyeballs on their grocery lists? I knew it! That was not an olive in that stew, Soul can't fool me!" Black Star's mind, as often as it does, forgot what he was supposed to be doing as something else more interesting came along. He reached out and took the paper out of Tsubaki's hand, running his quick eyes over the text. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

_I know I said I would discuss it with Sid-sensei and Nygus, but I decided to leave before that. I'm on a self-given mission to discover what Medusa is up to and figure out a way to save my mother. I'm not alone, though. Soul is with me. I'm sorry if you're mad at me, but you shouldn't be. This is the only way and I'm almost positive that nothing will happen. Keep training; you're going to have to back me up some day soon. –Maka._

"Maka-chan and Soul-kun are…" Tsubaki couldn't finish her sentence as she looked around the eerily empty apartment with wide eyes

"Stupid girl," Black Star grumbled as he clenched the paper tightly in his hands. "She stole my stage today."

Instead of the talk being focused around him, he knew it would be about Maka and Soul's disappearance. He was aggravated, but not as much as he would have been if it were any other circumstance. He read the paper again and smiled to himself.

"They'll be okay, Tsubaki. These are my friends, after all! They managed to pass all of my tests. If they can do that, they can do anything." He looked at his partner and flashed a large grin. "Let's go let the others know."

"Y-Yeah," Tsubaki replied as a small smile formed over her lips. Black Star was always able to look in the positive light of things – he had no negativity. That's what she loved the most about him. She watched as he folded the paper and tucked into his belt area, then walking forward in his typical march like step, leaving the apartment.

She followed and gave the empty apartment one more glance. The atmosphere felt as if no one had ever lived there at all.

"Let's cheat," Black Star beckoned with his hands held out. "I'll Speed Star to the field!"

"Okay!" Tsubaki closed her eyes and allowed her human form to contort into her chain scythe mode. She felt Black Star's warm hands clasp her tightly and heard his loud laugh echo as the wind blew hard against her metal.

"Speed Star!"

Almost instantly they arrived at their destination. Black Star tossed his weapon into the air, allowing her to change back into her human form, and placed his now free hands on his hips. He turned to his audience and gave them a large smile. His entrance was perfect.

"Attention, everyone! The great Black Star has finally graced you with his presence, and he comes with serious news!" Black Star shouted importantly as he raised his fist into the air. He heard Tsubaki sigh and walk over to where the others were standing. His eyes remained closed as he continued. "Maka and Soul won't be practicing with us because they went off on their own course."

As expected by a speech made by him, his audience echoed each other with words of bafflement – or was it awe? He huffed when he realized it was neither – they were making sounds of confusion.

"You don't mean…?" Liz began with a shock.

"I do suppose we should have suspected that of Maka," Kid said thoughtfully. "I'm surprised that Soul went along with it, though."

"I'm not," Tsubaki spoke up. "Soul-kun loves Maka-chan the most. It's only natural."

"Eh? Love? Isn't that a bit strong?" Liz asked as her blue eyes grew even wider. She scrambled for words as her cheeks heated up. "I mean… they're so young!"

"Only a year younger than you, big sis!" Patty said with a laugh. "Who do you love?"

"Don't ask such silly questions, Patty!" Liz shouted as she jumped back in surprise, holding her arms in front of her face as if she could physically shield the words away from her.

"Shut up!"

Sid's booming voice interrupted the teasing younger sibling mid sentence. Even Black Star found himself frozen for a split second, but he brushed it off before anyone would notice. Sid's blue face was twisted in confusion as he looked at his pupils in front of him with heavy, dead eyes. He slowly turned to face Stein, who was watching it all unfold with a blank expression.

"Care to explain, Stein?"

"It is exactly as you suspect, Sid," Stein said casually as he inhaled his cigarette deeply, mixing the air in his lungs with heavy smoke. "Maka Albarn lost her mind. She came to me yesterday asking my opinion on her becoming a Shibusen spy in Kami's territory and I told her it was a bad idea. As you can see, she chose not to listen to me… This is to be expected, of course."

"Are you saying that two students… under my responsibility… have taken off to be with the enemy? Not to mention that one of them just so happens to be the Death Scythe's daughter." Sid's low voice was dangerous sounding. No one was quite sure if he was angry or sad with his tone, but they knew that he was serious. Suddenly, his hard face shifted into something that looked like fear and he hung his head. "I'll be killed again for sure."

_Damn these kids_, he thought with a sigh. _If I wasn't already dead, I'd say they would be the death of me._

"Well, I guess there is nothing left to do other than go to Shinigami-sama," Nygus said as she gave her partner a small pat on his large blue arm without meeting his sudden gaze. "Physical training is canceled for today. But you all must come with us."

The five students groaned but they had no other choice than to comply. Most of the time they ignored Stein's instructions – except for when he threatened to dissect them – and occasionally they would brush off something Sid said, but none of them would ever dare disobey Nygus. Her silence was what scared them the most. When the rare times came upon them that she did speak, she was cold and straight forward, not leaving room in the atmosphere for them to object to anything.

Liz muttered angrily to herself about how she didn't have to get up so early if all they were going to do was hang out in the Death Room while Patty skipped next to her, oblivious of her sister's foul mood. Kid subconsciously counted every other tree they passed, careful to make sure he ended on an even number. Though it would have been preferable to land on something ending with an eight, even he knew this wasn't the time to dwell on things of that nature. Sensing his mild distress, Liz made sure to grab him tightly by his sleeve and drag him forward.

Black Star and Tsubaki were leading of course. After being questioned about how he came to obtain the knowledge of Soul and Maka's disappearance, he forfeited the note Maka had written in haste when she had left over to Sid.

The walk to the Death Room was rushed and seemed to fly by. Soon, the group was inside of Shibusen and making their way to the heart of the academy. Not bothering to even knock, Black Star kicked the door open with a yell and continued in as if what he did was an acceptable thing to do. The others paused before following him, all keeping their thoughts about his impoliteness to themselves.

"Eh?" The massive death god turned around from facing his mirror; the eyes of his mask were wide in surprise as the motley looking crew came trudging in. "Sid-kun! What brings you here now? Aren't you supposed to be training?"

Upon hearing this, Spirit came from behind the mirror – he was being scolded by the Shinigami and hid in the only place he could – and scanned the kids. He backed up instinctively when he saw Stein, but his face read that of confusion rather than fear.

"Where is my Maka-chan?" he demanded after a few beats of silence. His angelic daughter was not in the small sea of faces and neither was her stupid weapon – not that he minded the latter very much since the kid was nothing but trouble.

"Th-That is why we have come by, you see…" Sid stammered and averted his eyes to the ground. He was never good with confrontations with breaking bad news to people when he was alive, and that habit stuck with him even in his after life.

"Maka and Soul have decided to go off on their own," Nygus came in bluntly, understanding her partner's inner struggle. "From what the letter Maka wrote us stated, she has gone to be with Kami and Medusa."

"What?" Spirit shout boomed almost violently through the room that seemed to be separated from everywhere else. The atmosphere immediately grew tense as they watched a wide variety of emotion play out on the father's face. "Please tell me you're lying!"

"She's telling the truth, senpai," Stein said in a dull tone as he unfolded a piece of paper. He walked casually over to the Death Scythe and held it out in his hand. "See for yourself."

"Oh, this is not good!" Shinigami said as he carefully eyed his Death Scythe, who was taking a very long time to read the short note. "How could this happen? Did anyone know this was being considered?"

"Yes actually," Stein replied quickly before anyone else could. "After it became clear that Kami is being possessed by the witch Medusa's soul, Maka became interested in becoming a spy for Shibusen. She came to me asking what I thought later on since Sid and Nygus were on a mission, and I told her that I didn't think she was ready… It seems that she went against my advice though, right?" The doctor chuckled lowly and pushed up his glasses.

"Sh-Sh-She's _where_?" Spirit shouted again with a fierce, angry glare. His rage was blind – it was almost as if he'd forgotten all the years he'd spent fearing Franken Stein. "Maka is with _her_?"

"Calm down, Spirit-kun," Shinigami instructed with a wave of one of his overly large hand and patted the angry Death Scythe with the other. "This isn't Stein-kun's fault! Maka-chan and Soul-kun went off on their own."

Spirit didn't reply, but it was apparent that he wasn't taking Shinigami's words to heart. Though his spoken accusations had subsided, his piercing blue eyes stared at the stitched doctor with such intensity anyone in their right mind would be intimidated.

Of course, Stein had never had a right mind, so his reaction was simply nonchalant.

"We can't allow this to drag on any further," the Shinigami said thoughtfully. "Medusa is a tricky witch – we know that much. I was so sure she had destroyed her own soul… I suppose we shouldn't just assume these things, right, Sid-san?"

"Now that you explained some things last night," Sid began as he found his words once that the hard part was over, "it's easy to see why Medusa is possessing Kami."

"What things?" Kid asked suddenly, reminding the adults that others were still in there. "I thought we didn't know the reason why Medusa was using Kami… Isn't that the reason Maka set out on her own to figure out, father?"

"O-oi, Kid, calm down," Liz whispered when she saw a spark flash through the golden eyes of the young death god.

"T-This feeling…" Tsubaki stammered as she, too noticed the subtle change in Kid.

"Ah, well, we haven't told the cute kids yet!" Shinigami said with a laugh. Kid's memory of his father's nervousness was rusty since it had been years since he knew the Shinigami felt that emotion, but he knew that the laugh came from the feeling.

"Were you ever planning on it, honorable father?" Kid pressed in a slightly challenging tone. There was one thing Kid hated on the same level as the ugliness that emitted from imperfection in the form of unsymmetrical things: his father keeping things from him purposely.

"Of course I was!" Shinigami answered without even a second long pause. "I'll do it right now if you children would like!"

"Good; right now is perfect." Kid sighed with relief and calmed the storm that was beginning to rage inside of him. He knew he tended to overact about some things – he would have to apologize to his father later. After the explanation, of course.

"Don't forget the reason you're all here!" Black Star shouted stubbornly as he saw his group move in closer so that the story could begin. "I, the great Black Star –"

"Shut up." Kid turned around and glared at the blue haired assassin menacingly, cutting off the obnoxious speech that was bound to have carried on long enough for his patience to withstand.

"Fine," Black Star huffed as he folded his arms and shot Kid a dirty look. "But only because I want to know why the hell Maka thinks that _I_ will be back up for her."

* * *

"This sucks!" Soul shouted in an annoyed tone as he kicked another pile of sand angrily into the wind. "I'm hot. I'm hungry. I'm pissed. Let's go back."

"No!" Maka exclaimed as she grabbed her partner who was turning on his heel to go back in the direction they came by the collar. "We've come this far already. Everyone already knows we're gone."

"So?" Soul mumbled with a sigh. They had been walking for hours upon hours now, going deeper and deeper into the wide spread desert he had the pleasure of not getting this close to until now. The dry heat seemed to pluck his nerves like a talented musician, causing him to feel more irritated than he knew he had to be. He'd been absent minded when he told the witch Medusa that he was joining Maka, and now he was kicking himself for not asking where exactly they should go.

"So," Maka began in a mocking tone, "do you really want to be eaten alive by everyone?"

"I guess not," Soul sighed hesitantly, wondering if he could somehow manage to change his technician's mind in the last minute. But the thought was fleeting; he had already surrendered completely to this plan, no matter how stupid it was. Maka was too stubborn to give up on anything she set her mind to so he knew how hopeless it was, anyways. "I also suppose that the stupid witch isn't as good as she bragged. Shouldn't she know we're here by using her magic or something like that?"

"Either that or she's testing us," Maka said carefully in a quiet voice as she stopped walking suddenly. She saw Soul from the corner of her eye stop as well and look at her curiously. She closed her left eye and shut him out of her line of sight so that she could concentrate and purge her thoughts of _that_ moment.

Now, not only was she listening to the quiet desert, she was seeing it, sensing it, and feeling it. There was something about this particular area of land that caused her to hesitate going any further, and she was going to find out just what. Slowly, she shut her right eye, too and sent her soul down underneath where her feet stood and felt around.

"Ah," she gasped as her eyes flew open. No matter how many times it happened, finding souls when she wasn't sure what she was going to find always took her by surprise. True, she knew what she was looking for when she started, but she never expected to actually see that the inkling feeling she had was right. She also didn't suspect the number of souls that harbored themselves below the earth.

"What is it?" Soul asked as he scuffed over closer, feeling the need to have Maka within arms distance in case anything happened. An image of the night before flashed through his mind and he stepped even closer.

"This is…" Maka started but she was immediately cut off by the low rumbling of the earth.

For a moment, it felt as if the whole world was shaking violently, but Maka knew that it was only the area around them. She felt her arm be gripped by one of Soul's hands and was grateful. Despite being able to sense souls, she wasn't sure who was coming up to greet them and it was comforting to know that her weapon was right next to her.

The sand sifted heavily around them, pushing itself to the side in a slithery motion. A dull light pushed through the earth and revealed the people Maka had sensed. She felt a gasp escape her throat.

"You!"

Before her stood the frog witch Eruka sitting upon a very large tadpole and clutching onto her orange hat tightly. Her wide lips were pulled into a tight frown as she stared at the two kids in front of her grudgingly. It was obvious that their last meeting was not only playing out in Maka's mind, but Eruka's as well.

"Be-Before you start fighting, please!" Eruka shouted as she ducked, remembering the pain Maka had made her feel before. The sharp pings didn't disappear for days and the magic still stirred inside her soul, causing her to feel sick. "I work for Medusa. I was sent to get you…"

Maka felt herself relax a little, but Soul's hand was still tight around her arm. She straightened up so that it didn't look like she was in a fighting stance. It visually put Eruka at ease and she emitted a heavy sigh; it as if she had been holding her breath the entire time. Somehow, Maka didn't doubt that the timid witch was doing just that.

"Well, I guess you should do your job then," Soul muttered with a glare. He remembered the night where the witch Mizune ripped open his body with magic, too, and he remembered that it was this one that helped with it.

"Right…" Eruka replied slowly as she moved her hand gently in a motion that caused the earth to tremble again. Sand shifted even more than it had before, revealing a concrete staircase. Eruka gave her giant tadpole a tap which caused it to move back down into the stairway. "Follow me then."

"Wait," Soul called out lazily as he leaned down and picked up his duffel bag. "These are too heavy and annoying. Mind throwing them on that big bug of yours?"

"Jackson is not a bug, he's a tadpole!" Eruka defended with a huff as she turned the tadpole that was apparently named Jackson around. With a sigh, she held out her hand and gathered the belongings they had dragged out in the desert with them. Jackson grunted. "Sorry, Jackson… We'll be at their rooms shortly."

Without another word, Maka and Soul followed the odd witch and her tadpole into the ground, looking oddly at the light fixtures and both wondering how they worked in such a remote area. Subconsciously, Soul moved his grasp from Maka's arm to her hand, smiling when he felt her give a small squeeze. Though it wasn't the first time they had held hands, it was different than the others. This time they had what happened last night riding on their shoulders, yet it didn't stop either of them.

Maka's heart thumped loudly in her chest with each step. Her ears began to ring and the rest of the world was muffled to her. The mysterious atmosphere that the underground base held was mesmerizing – almost as if the settings of some of her favorite books were brought to life. She tried her hardest not to be amazed and soak it all in, but the bookworm inside of her was sighing with admiration of the surroundings.

"This is your room… We were only expecting Maka, so you'll have to share this until we get another room ready," Eruka grumbled as she and Jackson slowed to a stop in front of a door that looked like it would be suitable for an entrance to a dungeon.

"Ah, don't you have something a little less… ominous?" Maka asked as she gave the door a weird look. "It makes me feel like a prisoner…"

_It's because you are one, you stupid girl_, Eruka thought with a sigh. She leaned over and gave the heavy door a quick shove and allowed it to creak open, revealing a surprising inside.

Outside, the winding hallways were cold, dark and damp – the complete opposite of the climate above them – but inside of the room, it was comfortable and warm. It almost looked like a normal room in a regular apartment. It would have if it weren't for the too high windows – which Soul suspected led to the top of a sand dune since the sunlight was snaking its way in – stone ceiling, and of course, the door. The walls were a light mint green, which Soul knew was Maka's favorite color. There was a creepy looking wooden desk with paper and writing utensils on it with a matching chair shoved in the corner as if the person who placed it there gave it little to no thought. Next to that, there was a lamp that would tower over Maka – it was just within Soul's reach, so he would have to be the one to turn it on and off most likely.

Then there was a rather large bed on the opposite side. It was much larger than Maka's bed back at their apartment and looked like it was fit for two people. Soul ducked his head at the thought. He would definitely sleep on the floor. There was no way he was going to share a bed with Maka… But there was also no way he would be moving out of this room, even if they did get together another one for him. He wasn't stupid.

"I hope it fits your needs," Eruka said slowly from the doorway as the partners stepped into their new room. "Medusa will be by tomorrow. She's busy at the moment."

"R-Right," Maka stammered as she gave a parting glare at the witch who flew away without a glance back at the two kids.

Some would call Eruka stupid, and maybe she was, but she wasn't so idiotic to look in the eyes of the devil's daughter. She'd heard rumors about what Maka's stare did to you… Now that she'd felt the amateur's magic, there was no way she wanted to feel her wrath along with it.

"Medusa always assigns me the scary errands…!" she whispered almost tearfully to herself as she zipped down the winding halls with Jackson.

Back in the room, Maka was walking around the room and inspecting everything as if she expected something to be rigged to be some sort of death trap. Soul didn't blame her; he actually started to help. But halfway through he pulled himself to a lazy stop and sat down on the bed with a sigh, leaning his head against the green walls and closing one of his eyes, keeping the other on Maka.

"I guess it's really just a normal room," Maka said finally as she followed Soul's suit after a few more moments of searching. The bed was soft under her tired body and an exasperated sigh escaped her lips as a result and she closed her eyes. "Everyone is probably freaking out right now…"

"Within reason." Soul snorted. "This is the dumbest thing we've ever done."

"Yeah… I know," Maka replied with a small smile. She imagined the friends they left back at Death City chiding her for leaving, but then giving her a large hug afterwards. She knew it wasn't possible since the chance of Soul and her returning without them was slim to none, but she was allowed to use her imagination once in a while.

She felt Soul's hand slid into her own and her smile grew a little larger. She felt her cheeks heat up and she cursed – how could she blush at a time like this?

"Maka…" he said slowly. His voice sounded a little nervous. Maka opened her eyes and peeked at her weapon to find him staring at her with a strange intensity. "About last night…"

Maka felt her already inflamed cheeks redden even more and she ducked her head in embarrassment. She knew that he would bring this up to let her know that he was just simply caught in the moment and nothing more, and she knew that she would have to lie and said it was the same to her. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and cursed the boy under her breath. Shouldn't he know better than to play with her feelings like that? Sure, they fought more than anyone – they had been fighting when he kissed her, actually – but that didn't mean she didn't… have feelings for him.

Her breathing hitched. Did she have feelings for Soul? No… It hardly seemed possible. Even if she did, it wasn't like he ever would return them. Soul was into big breasted older women who smothered him with adoration because of how cute he was, not younger girls who had yet to grow in places that he'd like.

"I love you."

For a moment, Maka's heart stopped, her brain ceased function, and her breaths became sharp and ragged. Then as if on cue, they all started working faster than she could keep up. Soul's words rang loudly in her ears and hummed itself with the hard beating of her heart. Without telling it to, her head started shaking slowly.

No… She'd heard him wrong. Her story, her book… it wasn't meant for romance. It was strictly action and horror, nothing more and certainly not anything less. She had accepted that a long time ago when her parents first separated when she was six. Witches couldn't be loved; it was impossible. Of course, they could be lied to – she knew that – but Soul wasn't the type to lie… Was he?

Distantly, she felt his warm lips press against her cheek.

"Just think about it, yeah?" he mumbled as he pulled one of the quilts from off the bed and slid onto the floor. "I haven't slept in a day. I'm frigging tired… This is so uncool. Wake me up if something important happens."

He continued his mumbles as he sprawled out on the floor and covered his entire body with the blanket, not paying much attention to the rough texture of the wood below him. He had just confessed to Maka something he hadn't been sure about until that moment and she responded with having a panic attack. He had to bite back a smile. Though it wasn't the reaction he was looking for, it was… so Maka-like.

After a few moments he started to feel stupid. What if she didn't take him seriously? Something told him that it was what she was thinking now, but he had no way to be sure. Or another, much worse, option… What if she took him seriously and let him down tomorrow? He couldn't have picked a better time to say something so overwhelming like that… There was no way she'd be able to handle it properly. Or maybe se just didn't feel anything towards him.

It was always a possibility.

_This is annoying_, Soul huffed in his mind as he felt himself drift off to sleep.

"Soul," Maka's voice hissed in his ear after what seemed like just a few minutes of slumber. His eyes flew open quickly and he shot up, looking around the room as if he were searching for a fire.

"Is that witch here now? I thought Eruka said she'd here tomorrow, not now!" Soul exclaimed as his eyes continued to rapidly search the room. After a few moments and finding nothing strange with the new room, he moved his gaze over to his partner who had her head hanging over the side of her bed. Her hair cascaded over her face since it was down.

"No, Medusa isn't here…" Maka replied lazily. "And for what it's worth, it already is tomorrow."

"I thought I said to only wake me up if it was important…" Soul mumbled.

"Sorry," Maka replied with a teasing smile. "I woke up early and I was bored."

Soul didn't respond with anything other than a sleepy half smile and continued to look up at his meister. She should wear her hair down more often… She looked a little older than twelve when she did and he didn't feel so weird for having feelings for her.

"What?" Maka asked finally as she shot her weapon an odd look. His eyes held something she'd never seen in them before and it bothered her.

"I love you," he replied flatly as he folded his arms over his chest, keeping his intense eyes trained on the girl above him. The confession wasn't as passionate as the time before, but the feeling still lingered in the air between them.

Maka moved her head slightly to the right and allowed her loose mousey brown hair to hide her deepening blush; she was thankful for the fact that she had taken her pigtails out earlier. She knew that no matter how many times she heard it, her reaction to Soul's words would always be the same. Part of her relished the emotion, but another part of her loathed it. She'd always prided herself on being independent and uninterested in romantic relationships unlike the women her father wooed, but now it seemed as if she were no different.

Why her? Of all people, of all the girls that were available in Death City who were so much more physically attractive than her, why had Soul chosen to feel that way towards her? It didn't make any sense – the logic was lacking severely – but, god, she didn't want it to ever change.

"Soul, I…" she stammered as she tried to grasp the words she wanted to say. Her head moved so that she was facing him again with a spurt of courage as she stared down at him with similar intensity. "I love you, too!"

The confession startled them both. Maka had been unaware of these feelings for so long, but she knew it was true the moment they left her. She watched as Soul's mother slid into a coy smile, showing his sharp teeth that contrasted harshly with the darkness that surrounded them – the only lamp in the room was off and the sun had yet to rise fully. She stared at the teeth as they came closer to her face until they were hidden beneath her lips, teasing and assaulting her with emotions she'd never felt before.

If she was being completely honest with herself, she was terrified. There she was – sitting in a room at her enemy's base acting as a sheep in wolves clothing and none of that scared her. If any of it did, it was no where near up to par with how Soul made her feel. He had the power to break her, something he'd always possessed, but now he was fully aware of it. His power scared her. Her feelings scared her.

But, alas, she never wanted either to leave.

Soul pulled apart for a short moment before Maka stretched her neck and brought their lips back together in a rain of small kisses. Maka had never kissed anyone before – she wondered if she was okay at it. By the way Soul kept coming back for more she assumed that she was. Her cheeks reddened at the thought. Her fists clenched around the side of her bed, for she was still hanging off the side.

How long had she been harboring these feelings? It didn't seem to matter in the long run, but had she really been in denial all this time? She remembered how she felt a little over a year ago when she thought Soul had died… She hadn't even thought about how she would live without him because the scenario seemed impossible.

Perhaps it had been from the start. She recalled their strong connection in the piano room and how the smallest words that came from him affected her. Did she like him even then?

One day she would ask Soul when he discovered his feelings for her, but for now she just wanted to continue kissing him.

Suddenly, the door to their room flew open with a bang. Startled, Maka turned to yell at who she suspected was Black Star, but she gasped instead. There, hovering in the door way was her mother.

No… Not her mother. It was Medusa. In the midst of the kiss, she'd forgotten that she wasn't in Death City anymore. She frowned and felt Soul cling her hand tightly as she sat up, dragging them both to an upright position.

"Maka, let's go for a walk," Medusa purred with the flick of her orange eyes. Maka assumed that she no longer had to hide her true colors now that everyone knew who she truly was. "I have some things I want to discuss with you."

"If Maka is going then so am I," Soul responded with a growl. He knew Medusa and her tricks well enough to suspect that she had something more planned than a stroll through the cold hallways of the underground base.

"No, Soul, let me handle this, okay?" Maka whispered before directing her attention to the witch at the door. "Okay." She gathered her hair into a quick pony tail – her pig tails would have to wait until later – and jumped off the bed, ignoring Soul's nearly silent protests as she sauntered for the door. Before walking out, she turned to face the white haired male and smiled softly. "I'll be back, kay?"

"So from what I've… collected, I would say that you and Soul are now together?" Medusa asked in a nonchalant tone as she lifted the black hood of her long shirt. She started her way down the hallway; she was going in the opposite direction Maka and Soul had arrived. A small smile appeared. "How cute."

"N-no, we're not together really. I don't know what we are." Maka hid her blush. There was no way she was going to show the enemy that much emotion so soon – if ever. Why on earth did Medusa want to talk about that anyways? She didn't seem like the type to use icebreakers. "What's the real reason for the walk?"

"Ah, you're sharp. I was wondering… Would you like to know the story about how I came to use your mother's body? I suppose this is something you'd want to hear from me."

Maka stopped walking and stared curiously at the other witch. She had wanted to ask the question, true, but she didn't see the point in asking when she knew that she was probably going to get a cryptic reply. But it seemed that Medusa was moving quickly.

"I'll take that as a yes." A cruel smile replaced Medusa's last somewhat normal looking one. She motioned for the younger girl to continue walking further down the winding cold halls of the facility. Maka complied all too eagerly.

"I was meant to be your father's hundredth soul – the one to turn him into a Death Scythe for that stupid Shinigami," Medusa began, pausing long enough for Maka to gasp. "Fortunately, they failed. And even more fortunate, my sister Arachne was killed by Kami and Spirit. However… my body was destroyed in the struggle."

"If your body was destroyed, shouldn't your soul have been unprotected?" Maka's brows knitted together in confusion and she shook her head. Of course that witch was lying or was selectively twisting some part in the story. Didn't she know that Maka was (or had been) a student of Shibusen? She wasn't uneducated on these things. It was impossible to have just a soul and no body.

"If done correctly, a witch can scatter their soul just in time and survive," Medusa explained before adding quickly, "Actually… anyone can."

"What? No way; that isn't possible!"

"Oh yes, I don't lie about that. I scattered my soul and collected myself into a snake where I waited to seek revenge." Medusa sighed. "I really did love that body… It was my original. And to have it taken from me by another witch? Unacceptable. The longer I waited, the angrier I got. When I finally decided Kami was at a good point to be killed, I discovered something."

"What?" Maka urged in slight annoyance – why was Medusa taking so long to explain something simple? It was obvious that she had somehow made her mother feel guilty to the point where she would surrender her own body. That was what Maka knew already so she didn't care for that unneeded story. What she really wanted to know was _how_.

"My recuperation took two years and, in that time, Kami had wed and given birth. To you." Medusa shot a look at Maka, expected another gasp or a reaction along those lines, but the girl only responded with silence. "Thankfully, I'm patient. I decided then that I was going to wait until you were old enough and take over your body."

"Eh?" Maka felt silly for repeating her shock in so little words, but it was the only thing that came to mind.

"Of course," Medusa continued, "I would have to destroy your soul as soon as I got control so that you wouldn't be a nuisance later on. Seeing the way you are now… I was making the right choice."

"B-but don't witches have to give permission to allow another soul in them? How were you planning getting me to agree?" Maka stuttered as she tried to remember what she was like when she was younger. Given her upbringing, would she have said yes?

"Who told you that lie?" Medusa laughed bitterly. "I can take control of anyone I'd like with a little effort. It's just easier if they agree to it. A kid like you would have been a snap if it weren't for your mother."

"So…" Maka stammered as she tried to find her right words and regain her composure. "What you mean is… You're saying that my mother…"

"Gave me her body in order to protect you."

_I was trying to protect you, my puppy._ Her mother's words on that Christmas Eve made so much sense now…

"So all this time you've let me hate Mama when it was you who forced her to leave? Why… Why would you do that?" Maka screeched as she slid to a stop and angrily clenched her fists. Though she knew and understood that she wasn't talking to her mother, it was still hard to look in the eyes of the woman who'd raised her and yell. There were so many things she wanted to say – to scream – but it all seemed useless. Her eyes trained hard on a rock as her vision blurred with hot, angry tears.

"Because, stupid girl, your mother betrayed her own kind! She was a traitor and it's your idiot father's fault. Do you really think someone like that deserves my forgiveness? You made the right choice by finding me and agreeing to join my crusade against Shibusen, but if you travel down the same path as your mother…" Medusa leaned over so that Maka was forced to look at her mother's twisted, stole face. "I won't be so compassionate."

"Screw you!" Maka screamed as she sobbed, putting her hands over her eyes and hating her tear ducts for their own type of betrayal. "You bitch!"

"I think you need to learn how to speak to me!" Medusa snapped darkly as she gripped the younger girl's wrist. "Crona can teach you this well."

Medusa suddenly grunted and cursed, dropping her grasp on Maka and turning her attention to her head. Maka slowly brought her hands down from her eyes and stared curiously at the situation in front of her. If she didn't know any better she might have thought the woman was crazy with her rapidly changing expressions and small noises of struggle, but Maka knew what was happening. She'd seen it before.

Her mother was fighting.

Suddenly, Kami's hands flew up to Maka's shoulders, startling her. She stared at the form in front of her in silence before breaking the atmosphere with a whisper.

"Mama..?"

Slowly, Kami's green eyes met Maka's with a pained expression. Despite this, a small watery smile spread over her lips, buffering ever ounce of wickedness that Medusa had lathered on them.

"Ah… Puppy-chan."

"Mama!"

Without thinking, Maka threw herself into the arms of the woman who'd been missing for all of these years. Even though Maka saw her body a lot lately, it was different to see such familiar eyes. No longer were they wicked and devious, they were now warm and soft.

"What are you doing, Maka?" Kami breathed into her daughter's light brown hair through the embrace. "Why are you here?"

"I'm going to rescue you, Maka!" Maka exclaimed with emotion.

"Your father is worried sick, stupid," Kami chided with a small click of her tongue. Maka never realized just how much she'd missed that sound until she heard it again.

"Papa doesn't care about me… He's too busy living the bachelor life," Maka replied with slippery bitterness.

"You know that isn't true. Papa loves you very much, he just as a weird way of showing it," Kami replied with a sad smile. Her thin arms tightened around Maka and gave her a small squeeze of comfort.

Maka's heartstrings tugged at the sadness in her mother's voice – her father had a funny way of showing his love to Kami, too. Despite being the one to leave the marriage first, Maka knew her mother loved Spirit more than anyone. Her father was too much of a flirt to hold commitment and, finally, Kami had enough of having her heart broken by the same man. It was an unspoken understanding between Maka and her father that he would never be forgiven.

Love… It was a scary thing. That much she could say from experience.

"You should go back to your room now and be with Soul," Kami instructed as she pulled away from the embrace. "He looks like a good kid. He cares about you. I would rather you go back to the city but… you are just as stubborn as you were six years ago."

"I don't think I could go back even if I wanted," Maka mumbled. She clung to her mother's bare arms. "I don't want to go, Mama…"

"Ah, I don't either, but Medusa is strong. I didn't practice magic for years. I'm losing a little control here…"

"Why did you do it? Why did you let her take you instead of me?" Maka pressured desperately, sensing her loss in time.

"All I ever wanted," Kami replied as she stood up and pulled the black good up around her hair, "was for you to be a chance at a normal life. When I saw that was impossible, I decided that you having a life at all would be good enough for me."

Without another word, Kami turned on her heel and left her daughter standing alone in the cold stony hallway. Maka cried silently before dragging her sleeve across her face, crying her tears and wiping her nose. She sniffed and stared into the darkness her mother had retreated into and smiled. After all these years, she'd finally learned the truth… It almost seemed a little too good to be true – thankfully the major downfalls of the situation were enough to remind her that it was real, all of it.

She turned around and walked towards the direction of her room, knowing that with each step she was growing further away from her mother, but she didn't care. She was determined to save Kami, and, with Soul and magic on her side, she knew it was possible.

"What should I do, Ragnarok? There's a stranger in my hallway and she's a girl… I don't know how to deal with it," a voice moaned from a dark corner. Maka froze. "Oh no, now she's noticed us. What should we do?"

"We? You're on your own, Crona!" A second, rough voice replied. "Now you've made noise and the ugly girl heard us!"

"Please don't hit me! It hurts!" the first voice cried out as a shuffling sounded in the direction of the darkened corner. Maka stared intently at the area until a person with pink hair – it was so light that it was almost purple – fell onto the ground with a thud.

"Are you alright?" Maka asked as she peered over the person, looking for the other voice. However, the corner was too shallow to hide anyone else, especially an adult that sounded as big as the second voice did.

"Ragnarok shoved me," the strange person said in a slow voice, still lying on the ground miserably. Maka wasn't quite sure if the character was a boy or girl so she kept her distance, unsure if she should trust another one of Medusa's lackeys.

"Do you… Do you need help?" Maka asked timidly. Who was Ragnarok? Before, Maka was sure that there were two people in the corner, but now that she was a little closer it was apparent that there was only one. If this person wasn't Ragnarok, then it must have meant that it was Crona.

"I don't know how to deal with help…" Crona replied as a pair of sad eyes rose to look at Maka.

Almost immediately Maka felt pity. The eyes before her held so much complicated emotion it was almost sickening. She was silent for a moment before it occurred to her that now that she saw Crona's face, she still didn't have any idea what the gender was. She bit her lip and forced a small smile in order to buffer her rudeness.

"Are you a boy or a girl?" Maka asked as she took another step forward and held out her hand.

"Does it matter?" Crona asked miserably as the sad, purple eyes stared emptily at Maka's face, ignoring the hand that was stretched out.

_Well, that question was a bust_, Maka thought with a sigh. For the sake of her sanity, she decided she would call Crona a girl. Gender wasn't that important, anyways – Crona did have a point.

"I guess not," Maka replied as she gave her outstretched arm a shake drawing Crona's attention to it. After a few beats of awkward staring, Maka spoke again. "Just grab it. I'm trying to help you up!"

"W-Why?" Crona asked with wide eyes as she pushed herself up and dusted off her black dress. In the end she had ignored Maka's efforts. When Crona noticed how close the two were standing her eyes widened and she leapt back, smacking against the wall with a thud. "Why are you here? What should I do, Ragnarok?"

Suddenly, a mass of thick black liquid burst out of Crona's back causing Maka to yelp and jump back in surprise. Her wide green eyes watched in horror as the strange stuff took the shape of a rather large alien looking form. Two arms exploded out of the massive body and two round circles Maka assumed were eyes appeared on what looked like the face of the monster.

"Eat her soul, idiot! Isn't that what Medusa always tells you to do?" Ragnarok exclaimed as he brought down his giant fists on Crona's head.

"Stop it, Ragnarok! It hurts! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"

Maka blinked in confusion, feeling fear ink around her heart. What was that thing? Why hadn't she sensed its soul? It clearly had one. She cursed herself for not searching for another person – or whatever this thing was. Now that she was looking, it was evident that Crona's body held both a meister soul and a weapon soul.

"A-Are you students of DWMA, too?" Maka asked, interrupting Ragnarok's bully time.

"What the hell is that?" The black alien snapped as he put his hands on his hips. "Is that ugly girl talking to us, Crona?"

Crona was still shaken by the pounds she was getting and didn't reply to the entity sprouting out of her back.

"My name is Maka Albarn, not ugly girl," Maka snapped back as she tightened her fists. This thing was really pissing her off. "Who are you?"

"Ah! You're Medusa's guest," Ragnarok laughed as he ignored the question by rubbing Crona's head with great force. "You bitch! You were gonna kill her! Wait until Medusa hears about this. You'll be punished for sure!"

"I wasn't going to kill her," Crona defended miserably as she attempted to swat away her attacker. "I… I don't know how to kill girls."

"Maybe she isn't even a girl!" Ragnarok exclaimed as one of his large arms outstretched and gripped Maka's skirt, flipping it up before the young girl could protest. "White? How boring. You have no sex appeal."

"You think I don't know that?" Maka shouted angrily as she pulled down her skirt quickly. Her cheeks burned brightly in embarrassment and annoyance as she brought out her book. "Don't sexually harass people, asshole. Maka Chop!"

She swung blindly, not thinking she had to aim since her target was so large. What she hit was not the alien looking person, however. Maka's eyes grew wide as she watched Ragnarok disappear into Crona once more, clearing a path to Crona's face. The book made a sickening cracking sound when it made contact.

"Don't hide under that skin, pervert! Come out now!" Maka shouted as she hit Crona's back angrily, still conscious of her skirt.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Crona shouted as she slid back into the dark corner. "Please don't hit me again! I'm sorry!"

Maka quickly dropped to her knees and reached out for the pink haired girl. She clasped Crona's hands and smiled. "No, no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. I want do it again, kay? Can you forgive me?"

Crona's purple-gray eyes widened at the apology. With the way her face twisted in confusion, Maka assumed her 'sorry' was yet another thing Crona didn't know how to deal with. Strange girl.

"Do you want to come to my room?" Maka offered. "My partner would want to meet you."

Secretly, Maka hoped that Ragnarok would pop our again so that she could teach him a proper lesson using Soul's blade. But she did feel bad for the scared person… Plus, she didn't have many friends here, after all. Was Crona here under similar circumstances as Maka? Medusa must have been extremely interested in the weapon-technician duo. She didn't even want to think about the lengths the witch went through to bring them here.

"N-No!" Crona shouted as she jumped up and stumbled away. "She said I'm not allowed to talk to anyone but Ragnarok. I don't… know how to deal with you!"

Maka watched dumbfounded as the pink haired girl ran down the hall and rounded another corner. Maka couldn't help but giggle.

"She's cute," she said to herself as she stood and brushed off her legs. She walked the rest of the way to her room quickly, wondering if Soul was going to bombard her with questions. She sighed, knowing it was inevitable.

She hoped she would get a kiss out of it at least.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater.

**A/N:** Oops, it's almost been a month since I've last updated. Sorry! I'm not sure how many chapters are left, but I don't believe there will be that many. Then again, I originally planned for this story to be only 6 chapters long…

Thank you to those who review every chapter – including both the ones who have been doing so from the very beginning to the ones who are starting today – your feedback is always appreciated. I'm going to start replying to every review I get now… I should have done that from the beginning, but alas.

Alright, I'm done writing a book of an A/N. Enjoy Chapter Ten of Control!

* * *

Maka had been lying in the hard bed for what felt like days even though she knew it had only been an hour or so since she woke up. She listened to Soul's slow breathing and appreciated the way the cool darkness felt on her skin. Yesterday had been relatively peaceful after she had come back from her talk with Medusa and her mother and Soul had taken the information better than she'd thought he would.

"So why do you think that Crona person is a chick?" he asked after she finished telling him about the pink haired stranger.

"Because she's cute!" Maka huffed. She'd made the mistake of admitting that she wasn't sure what Crona's gender was and Soul doubted her perception abilities it seemed. Thankfully the conversation ended there because Maka wasn't in the mood to have anyone go against her decisions, especially Soul.

Though they both half expected Medusa to come charging in angrily, it never happened. Hours ticked by, yet they were alone the entire time.

Finally the sun began to shine through Maka's eyelids so she allowed them to open. With a sigh, she sat up and trudged out of the room, her eyes searching for a bathroom. She knew she passed one yesterday – or at least something that looked like a bathroom. It was just another annoying thing about the underground kingdom that irked her.

"Maka, I would like to begin your training," Medusa said coolly as she slid out from a dark crook in the hall, surprising Maka. "You're behind the others, but in a few days you could advance them."

"Um," Maka replied, a bit flustered. Why was she pretending nothing had happened? "O-okay. I just need to get Soul and –"

"No," Medusa cut her off with a tight smile. "I have other plans for Soul. This training is for your magic. He can't help with that, now can he?"

"Plans?" Maka questioned, ignoring that comment about her magic. "What are you planning?"

"Oh, nothing too important. He's going to be my errand boy for the day," Medusa replied with the wave of her hand. "Now get ready. I'll send Eruka pick you up in ten minutes."

Maka watched her mother's body slither unnaturally down the hall, leaving her alone. Forgetting the reason she had come out, Maka turned and walked back into her room. She stepped over a sleeping Soul, pausing to smile at his peaceful face. He always looked so innocent – completely opposite from his normal rough expression – she almost didn't want to wake him up.

"Yo," she called as she tapped his rib cage with her foot. "Wake up, lazy ass."

"Good morning to you, too, tiny-tits," he mumbled as his hands rubbed his tired eyes. He scoffed at the swift kick he received in his ribs and groaned. "What time is it?"

"Dunno," Maka admitted as she opened her bag and started to rummage through it, looking for clothes. "The suns up, so you should be, too."

"Eh… Are we just gonna sit in here all day like yesterday?" Soul yawned with one eye closed, the other one trained on Maka. "Not that I mind it that much."

"Shut up," Maka muttered as she felt her cheeks redden. She was going to have to get over that embarrassing habit, it was too annoying. "Medusa wants to do some kind of training with me. She said something about you be an errand boy."

"What does that mean?" Soul asked he sat up, shooting a partner a weird look.

"How should I know? She'll probably make you run around and make sure her minions are in line or something."

"Not that, I mean the whole special training thing," Soul pressed with a lazy eye roll. Why would he care what he was doing?

"Oh… She's probably going to teach me some magic." Maka replied as she tried her hardest to be nonchalant. Before Soul could reply, she quickly plucked up an orange hoodie and a pair of jean shorts. "Turn around; I'm changing."

Soul sighed and shifted his body so that he was facing the door, giving Maka the space to swap out her clothes. He wondered what sort of stupid things Medusa would make him do – what did a lackey for an uncool witch do normally? He imagined things like picked out frog eyes – preferably Eruka's – and collecting various oddities for potions or whatever witches usually used. The thing he wondered about most though was what kind of special training Maka was going to be put through. He was positive that nothing good would come of it, especially if it involved her using magic.

"You can look now," Maka informed as she kicked her dirty clothes into the corner and tugged down her sweatshirt a bit lower. She frowned at how loose it was – she had lost weight since the last time she wore it. As if she had just reminded it, her stomach growled. When was the last time she had eaten? "I'm hungry."

"When are they going to feed us?" Soul grumbled. Not being able to have freedom over when he ate made him feel like an animal and it pissed him off.

"Dunno," Maka sighed as she sunk down to the floor next to her weapon. She brought up her knees to her chin and leaned to the side, allowing him to be her support. It was something she did usually, but it felt different now. Their souls were connected in a way they hadn't been before – though the bridge was always there.

Soul looked at his tech out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but to smile. True, he always claimed that his 'type' was a sexy grown woman with large breasts, but secretly, he favored the cute type. He quickly looked away, immediately feeling perverted at the thought.

Also, Maka wasn't cute. She may look like a sweet girl from the outside, but she had a spark inside of her that divided her from all the rest. She was fearsome, even if sometimes she got scared herself. She was headstrong – Soul had never met anyone as stubborn as she was in his life. Most of all, her overall strength was something to be admired. Even if she was somewhat weak physically, it was her emotional stability that shone through. Maka always said that Soul was the strong one of the two, and every time he disagreed more than the last.

She was complicated, yet he found that it was what he liked most.

Suddenly the door to their room flew open with a bang, causing Maka to leap away from Soul's shoulder. Eruka sat on her hovering tadpole Jackson and wore a tight, timid smile.

"Medusa is ready now," she said without looking at either of the kids in the eye. "The other one needs to get ready, too…"

Soul frowned, supposing 'the other one' meant him. "Get ready for what?"

"You'll see," Eruka replied as her grey eyes found Soul's red ones. They looked heavy and suddenly, Soul wanted to leave the underground facility quickly.

Maka stood and brushed herself off, walking out the door. She paused, shooting a look over her shoulder to her weapon and her chest tightened. She wanted to say that she loved him, but he looked too troubled. Plus, she hadn't said it since that time yesterday morning when she confessed… It was too weird. Instead, she gave him a large, cheery smile – despite it being fake, she hoped it would raise his spirits a bit.

"I'll be back later," she said in a forced bright voice, placing her hand on the heavy cell-like door.

"Be careful," Soul warned, a bit cautiously. It was apparent that he was weary of letting Maka go off and do magic with Medusa alone, but knew there was nothing he could do about it.

"You, too," Maka nodded. She shut the door and turned towards Eruka with a much harder expression than the one she used with Soul. "I hope you don't expect me to be nice."

"N-no," Eruka stuttered, surprised by the sudden shift in emotion.

_Good_, Maka thought bitterly, _It'd be hard to be nice to someone I plan to kill._

The walk to wherever they were going was spent in a thick silence. Though Maka didn't want to admit it, Eruka seemed different from other witches. If anything, she reminded Maka of a leashed pet more than a villain. Perhaps everyone under the same roof as her also shared similar circumstances – there was no other choice.

After passing a few more doors that looked identical to the one she shared with Soul, the sharp turns disappeared as the hallway straightened. Soon, the hallway itself disappeared as well and Maka's green eyes drank in her surroundings.

It was a large room – it almost looked as if her entire apartment complex could fit comfortably inside. The hallway was at a slant it seemed because Maka knew she was deeper than where she slept. The high ceiling was made of strange glowing sand and there were no rafters to give it support. Maka assumed that it was holding up fine due to a charm. The ground was a soft clay-like material that squished beneath the pressure of her sneakers. Thanks to the glowing emitting from the ceiling, the ground gave off a soft red light of its own.

Gulping, Maka turned towards to Eruka to question the details of the training she would be undergoing, but it looked as if the witch was never there. Pursing her lips in confusion and slight annoyance, she walked to the center of the large room and twirled slowly. Every part of the room looked the same as the last; Kid would be pleased at the symmetry.

She tried her hardest to not feel the twinge of sadness at the thought.

Something whizzed by Maka's ear, startling her. She looked at whatever had landed and frowned – it looked an oily substance. She crouched and touched the small black puddle with her right hand curiously and lifted her fingers to her face. A small gasp escaped her lips when she realized what the warm, dark liquid was.

Blood.

Why was it black?

Before she could think of a reasonable answer to her own question, a sharp pain shot up her arm and she let out a loud yelp as she watched her red blood mix with the mysterious black blood. She clenched her teeth and gave her right hand a hard shake out of reflex, but she noticed that the few drops of black blood were in a solid form and piercing her skin in multiple directions.

She fumbled to pull the sharp shards out of her shaking fingers when a small voice made itself apparent from behind her.

"Bloody needle."

Maka had no time to see who the voice had originated from. The puddle of black blood below her shot up in sharp teeth like pillars, just barely missing her chest. Maka jumped away in a hot second and twisted so that she was facing the way the voice had come from.

There, standing just a foot away from where Maka had been crouching was Crona. She was holding a large black sword with one hand and clutching her arm as if it was injured with the other. Her face held the same miserable expression as it did the morning before. Her eyes were different now… They were now a radioactive teal hue that glowed with insanity.

"Wh…" Maka could barely form a sentence. Her hand throbbed with a pain that was so intense she could feel her consciousness slipping. She shook her right hand in a violently desperate attempt to get the painful needles out. "What… did…?"

"My blood is black," Crona replied simply, as if it answered any and all questions. She gave her sword a hard shake. "Hey, Ragnarok, are you hungry?"

"Her soul looks delicious," the sword replied as it sprouted big lips. So this was Ragnarok's weapon form… "Kill her, Crona."

Their mood was completely different than it was yesterday it seemed. Before when Ragnarok found out who Maka was he immediately punished Crona for considering taking her soul, but now it was obvious that he no longer cared who Maka was to Medusa. His words were thick and laced with bloodthirsty urges… It was terrifying. Maka had no idea who she was up against or how to even begin reacting – she was frozen.

Without another word, Crona's body bent backwards as if it had no bones. She dragged Ragnarok in a complete circle around her as she regained her stability before pausing, her eyes flickering around the room in short quick movements. In a burst, she flung herself forward and charged Maka, waving Ragnarok wildly all the way.

It was enough to kick start Maka's limbs; she dodged the first blow with ease. Crona's movements were easy to predict, but it didn't make her any less nervous. She had nothing to protect herself with; Soul was elsewhere. Even if she did scream for him, she doubted that he would hear with the distance between the two.

Crona reared back and gave another lank blow, but she missed. Maka grunted in annoyance – this was an unfair fight – she was completely defenseless!

"Use magic, Maka," a booming voice advised.

"Why?" Maka replied with a shout. Her mind was too frazzled to wonder who had spoken.

"If you don't, you will die."

Maka froze for a split second. The venom and agitation laced within the voice made the speaker clear as day. Medusa. So she was watching all of this unfold? Maka should have known that the snake like witch had something to do with the sudden assault.

She swallowed hard as she dodged yet another attack. How would she go about using something like that? Before she hadn't even thought about it. She just took off her Soul Protection in a blind rage and the magic just happened. Maybe she was over thinking things, but in reality, she hadn't the first idea about anything involving magic. Perhaps it really was as simple as just letting it happen, but then again, perhaps it wasn't.

That matter aside, how could she break a promise she made to Shinigami-sama? Again? She had already done enough damage by making it look like she betrayed Shibusen by leaving Death City… How could she use her magic to hurt someone? She would never be forgiven.

When she agreed to the training she thought it would be similar to DWMA's, but now she could see just how stupid she really was for thinking that. This place was not Death City – it was pure evil.

"This girl sure is stupid, Crona," Ragnarok laughed. "She won't even fight back! Doesn't she remind you of something?"

"Yeah," Crona replied with a nod. "She reminds me of Mr. Bunny."

"What did we do to Mr. Bunny, Crona?" Ragnarok pressed. His tongue slithered out of his mouth as his lips formed a large grin.

Crona lifted the large black sword high over her head and looked at Maka with cold, empty eyes.

"We killed him."

Maka's heart thumped loudly in her chest fearfully as she began slowly backing up. Her mind raced in terror. What should she do? She didn't know how to use her magic and even if she did, she would refuse to use it to hurt someone. It wasn't impossible… No, it was very, very possible for her to easily unleash something horrific – she'd seen proof when she attacked Eruka – but that wasn't the issue here. Just because she _could_ do something didn't mean she _would_.

With each wobbly step Crona took, Maka backed up more, not bothering to look behind her in her panic. Her mouth opened and shut uselessly in attempt to say something – _anything _– to calm the pink haired girl down, but nothing came out. Her throat squeezed tightly shut and her hands tightened and loosened from a fist to open palms. She had no choice. It was either use magic or die.

Just to prove how unlucky she truly was, Maka lost her footing and fell backwards, hitting the ground hard with an audible _oomph_. It was the final straw it seemed; Maka's arms and legs decided to shut down completely and not respond to the frantic brain signals she was sending out. Her eyes widened as she watched Crona inch closer and closer to her, feeling a level of helplessness she had never felt before.

Her chest heaved with short breaths – her lungs felt like they were on fire. Surely Crona wouldn't _really_ kill her – it was too unfair. Though she tried to convince herself of this over and over, she knew it wasn't true. No one here cared if something was fair or not, they just did what they felt like doing and right now, Crona and Ragnarok felt like killing Maka. She watched as Ragnarok in his sword form flew closer and closer to her skull.

"If you die… I wonder what would become of Soul." Medusa's voice echoed in an almost taunting tone, snapping Maka from her thoughts.

Soul.

What the hell was she doing? She really couldn't just lay here and let herself be killed thus leaving Soul alone in a place like this – it was wrong. She suddenly remembered the true reason she was here in the first place.

_To protect the people I love the most._

With sudden motivation, Maka's wide eyes narrowed and her hands flew out in front of her, easily catching the black sword that was coming down in the direction of her skull and stopping it, giving both the weapon and technician a start. Without even having to think Maka built up something deep within her and shot it out of her body with all of her might, sending Crona and Ragnarok at least thirty yards away from where she sat on the ground.

Her lungs begged for air after the energy calmed down and she gasped for breath.

"Please… Stay away," she pleaded as she fell back. "I can't hurt you. I won't."

Not with magic, anyway.

"That was rather pathetic," Medusa said in a disappointed voice as she appeared next to Maka's face out of no where. "I expected more out of you."

Finally feeling safe, Maka slowly sat up. She didn't care if Medusa thought she was pathetic, and she didn't she care if the witch was disappointed in her. It meant nothing to her. Her eyes quickly found Crona who stood in a lopsided fashion, still clutching Ragnarok tightly, and sighed with relief. No, Crona was fine. What was important was the fact that she hadn't used magic to hurt someone.

"It's such a shame that you hate yourself that much," Medusa said as she folded her bare arms over her chest, looking down at Maka with cross eyes.

"Hate myself?" Maka drew her eyebrows in closely. "Why do you say that?"

Medusa's orange eyes studied Maka's face carefully and Maka did the same to her. It was easy to tell her mother and Medusa apart now that she knew where to look. When Medusa's soul was dominate, Kami's stolen face was sharp and looked almost like it had no specific place – as if the wicked smile that was always on her lips would slip off her face into a puddle of goo. Her movements were more rigged as well. When Kami took control over what was rightfully hers, her movements were natural and her face was soft. Nothing was forced because nothing needed to be. It must be tiring to have a body that wasn't yours.

Without warning, Medusa dropped quickly into a crouching position and put her face a mere six inches away from Maka's. Her lips were in a tight, serious line and her eyes shone with something Maka couldn't quite read.

"Shibusen broke you in ways you should never be broken," she finally said in a low tone. "That place is evil."

"Shibusen is not evil!" Maka nearly shouted as she clutched her hands into fists. "You're the evil one!"

"What horrible thing have I done, Maka? Even when I was the target of your mother and father I had done nothing." Medusa snapped.

"You call taking over my mother's body being innocent?" Maka replied angrily. "You're evil."

Medusa's hand shot out and grabbed Maka's arm roughly, drawing them even closer together. Maka closed her eyes tightly and turned her head so that she wouldn't have to look directly at the burning gaze that was coming from the witch's glowing orange eyes.

"Am I evil for what I've done? Or am I evil because I'm a witch?"

Maka opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. She was about to answer Medusa's question with _both_, but she knew from the core of herself that it would be impossible to lie at this point. As much as it pained her to admit, Medusa was right – she hadn't done anything but plan something and no one knew what it was. It could be serious or it could be nothing.

"If you can't answer that, then answer this: Why do you think witches are evil?" Medusa asked as a smile played with her lips. She was like a cat playing with her mouse prey.

Again, Maka was speechless. She couldn't think of an answer.

"I'll tell you why," Medusa continued. By the sound of her voice, it was apparent she had expected Maka to react in the way she did. "It's because that's what Shibusen taught you. Shibusen told you things about your kind like they knew what they were talking about, but you and I both know that they know nothing about us."

"Don't put me in the same group as you," Maka spat, but her eyes still refused to look at Medusa.

"Why not? After all, we're the same. We always will be."

"Shut up…"

"What are you fighting, Maka? Do you really not want to be a witch? Or do you not want to be something that DWMA hunts?" Medusa's voice was growing loud with intensity as she continued to ask questions Maka didn't want to hear. "You're not meant to be a normal human – you're too weak as one – and you know this. Why are you fighting yourself? You can't control what you're born as and you shouldn't be forced to feel like you're at fault for something like that."

"Stop…"

"Those people you left behind don't understand you like I do, Maka," Medusa almost purred, ignoring Maka's choked plea. "They'll never be able to, either. Thanks to Shibusen's brainwashing, they see you as a threat – a prey. It's how it'll always be. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if they've already planned what they should do with you once you get older."

"You don't know anything!" Maka shouted suddenly, placing her hands on Medusa's shoulders and blasted her away with all of her might. Not with a shove, but with large masses of purple energy similar to the kind Eruka and Mizune attacked Soul with. Her eyes widened as she looked at her hands – she'd never felt something so negative like that before.

Medusa began laughing softly from a few feet away. Maka looked up quickly to see that a large arrow had sprouted out of her lower back region and supported her – she looked like a middle-eastern snake charmer. Her arms were folded across her chest and a small trickle of blood was leaking from her wicked smile. The more her orange eyes that were full of glee stared at Maka, the louder her laughs got.

"So I guess when you shove the dog in the corner, teeth come out!" the snake witch exclaimed as her laughs subsided. Her smile was still there, taunting Maka and fueling her anger. "You'd be surprised at how much I know. I know more about the DWMA than you, and I definitely know more about witches than you."

"I'm a Shibusen student – or, I was – and I passed all of my witch courses with one hundred percents! I know just the same!" Maka retorted lamely, not caring how silly she sounded. She was going to prove to Medusa that she was wrong in every way she could no matter how stupid the methods were.

"Fool! Do you think that if we didn't want Shibusen to find out something about witches that we would make sure it never happened? The information they teach you in that school is elementary at best." Medusa lowered her head so that she was looking down at Maka, even from such a far distance away. "And with what little they do know, they twist it so that we're always at fault. Such as the two souls in one witch."

"You're a liar!"

In an instant Medusa was close to Maka's face once more, her eyes still burning with amusement.

"Did you know that I have Soul Perception too?" she said as her lips twitched. "Of course, being a witch, it's a different kind than yours. While you have more of a bigger picture sight, mine is detailed. I can see what and how people think and feel with one peek."

"What's with this subject change?" Maka demanded as she scooted back. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and found that Crona was no longer standing where she was a few minutes ago.

"Do you remember when I met you and your friends out in the desert?" Medusa continued, seemingly ignoring Maka as usual.

"Y-Yeah…" Maka replied with uncertainty. Where was Medusa going with this? Her knees were starting to quake with the pressure of sitting on them for so long, but she didn't dare to move.

"Do you want to know what your friends were thinking? I'll tell you. _Kill the witch… Witches are wastes of space… Death is the only option for a witch._" Medusa mocked as she tilted her head up, but she kept her eyes trained on the girl next to her the entire time. "That blue haired obnoxious fellow – Black Star, is it? – he was thinking that there are no innocent witches." A pause. "I could have sworn he looked right at you."

Maka's head dropped with a snap as she stared wide eyed at her lap. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and her vision blurred. She knew that she shouldn't believe the words that Medusa was saying, but she couldn't help herself. It all sounded true. Black Star had tried to kill _the witch_ without even thinking so it wasn't hard to believe that he actually thought that. What Maka was hearing was all true.

She felt her head beginning to shake. No. It couldn't be true. She didn't want it to be true. Her friends were her friends; they would never plan her death even if she were half witch. They knew she was a good witch, right? They knew she hated her witch self more than anything, right? She would never succumb to the sway of magic. They knew that.

Right…?

"What interests me the most about this is your relationship with Soul," Medusa said slyly, snaking her way into Maka's thoughts. "You love him a lot. Not so much in the romantic way, but he's your best friend, correct?"

Maka's head flew up suddenly as she looked at Medusa was wide, begging eyes. _Please,_ she thought. _Please don't tell me anything about Soul. I'd rather not know_.

"I'll talk that as a yes," Medusa hummed with a small smile. "You know, I took a quick look at his soul earlier when I was by your room out of curiosity…"

No. Maka shook her head and put her hands up to her ears. She didn't want to know what the witch was going to say. Maka wasn't one to favor dwelling in ignorance – out of everyone she knew, she hated it the most – but this was the one exception. If Medusa was going to say what Maka thought she was going to say then…

"He loves you."

Maka looked up as her hands dropped from her ears. She suddenly felt childish. Of course Soul loves her, that's what he told her a few days ago. She would never doubt something like that. Soul always meant what he said.

"But not as much as you love him. No where near it, actually." Medusa continued slowly after a few beats. By the look of her face, it was obvious that she had planned it to go that way; she gave Maka a few beats of relief, and then slapped her hard in the face with reality. "He will never love you the way you love him because you're a witch."

"Why… Why should that matter?" Maka asked with conviction, her green eyes still looking into Medusa's intensely.

"You're finally asking the right questions." Medusa lowered her head and blew a small gust of air in Maka's face. "Shibusen makes it matter."

Something inside Maka's brain snapped. Suddenly she was so full of hate she could barely think straight. Her sight flashed red for a quick beat before going back to the normal tint and her mind clouded. The only thing she could think of was how shitty all of her friends have been to her. They lied, they cheated, and they even planned to kill her. All over what? Because she was born as something different then them?

If anything, _they_ were the freaks. The ones who were technicians were nothing more than weak humans who could do a few fancy tricks with a sword or gun. The ones that could actually shift their body into a weapon were no different than her but yet they considered themselves superior to her race.

"What the hell gave them the right!" Maka shouted as she quickly gathered up a large mass of energy and blasted it at the ground directly next to her, causing her to fly up. Dirt rained around her heaving form.

"The question is _who_," Medusa replied calmly as she looked down on her now favorite pupil. "And the answer is Shinigami."

* * *

"Why am I doing this again?" Soul asked with a huff as he tried to keep up with the moving ground below him. He was informed to run in the opposite direction that it was moving and it reminded him of the uncool machines at the gym Maka sometimes visited. What were they called? Skidmills? Treadmacks?

"We're just running a few tests," Eruka replied with a cautious look. It was surprising how different the weapon was from his technician. She was sure if they were anything alike she'd be dead.

"For what?" Soul's voice was a little strained now. The moving contraption picked up speed and he stumbled a bit. He was never too good at running – that was Maka's forte.

"Stop asking questions, kid," a gruff voice snapped from a dark corner.

Soul sighed. There was a brute of a man that had been observing him the entire time from the darkness and it was creeping him out. He could only see part of his face clearly and make out just a little bit of the other half – it looked like the hidden eye was shining eerily. Eruka had referred to him as 'Free', but Soul doubted that was his true name.

The two people in this room – Eruka and Free – had been running various tests on him for the past hour or so. He hadn't a clue what it was for, but it was killing time and keeping his mind off of worrying about Maka, so he went along with it. Plus it never hurt to get a little exercise. It wasn't often that he did this sort of thing since whenever he had to do physical activity it was always in his scythe mode.

The thing that caused him to be weary about this was the large open case with assorted needles inside. He hated needles and he felt sorry for the poor bastard who tried to stick him with one. Just seeing them glisten in the artificial lighting made him a little uneasy, but he hid it well. Cool guys didn't get uncomfortable over a few tiny sharp objects, especially not one that could turn into a blade himself.

"All results show that he's a good match," Eruka mumbled as she handed the clipboard over to Free. "Should we go ahead and do it?"

"Nah," Free replied as he skimmed the papers. "He's a match alright, but he's not perfect. We don't have enough of this stuff to mess up again."

"Can you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Soul grunted. His legs were growing heavy – how long had he been running on this stupid thing?

"But Medusa picked him out herself! If I don't do this right then surely…!" Eruka's voice died off as she ignored Soul and a deep frown covered her face. It was easy to assume what the rest of her sentence was.

"She won't kill you over a brat like that. We'll just have to find someone else."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Soul exclaimed as he leapt off of the treadmill. The cryptic conversation in front of him was really pissing him off.

"We don't have time to find someone else!" Eruka continued. The less she acknowledged Soul, the more annoyed he got.

Soul's arm tuned into his scythe blade in a flash. Suddenly, he didn't feel too safe anymore. The hostile atmosphere was growing thick in the room and he didn't want to be where the two villains were for another second.

"Let me leave now and I won't kill you," Soul hissed as he twirled his sharp arm threateningly. "I played your game for a little too long. I need to find Maka."

"Maka won't want you even if you do manage to discover where she is," Free replied as he barked a laugh. He moved out from the shadows, exposing his entire face. The eye that was hidden didn't look real… It was an odd spell of some sort by the looks of it. "You can't kill me. I'm of the immortal clan."

"Immortal clan?" Soul repeated skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "What is that?"

"Aren't you a Shibusen student? They should teach you things like this!" exclaimed Free in an annoyed tone.

"I don't pay attention in class," Soul replied with a shrug as he waved his scythe blade in front of the older man's face almost tauntingly. "All I have to do is turn into this blade and look pretty – Maka does all the studying. Maybe you should brag to her about your useless immortality."

"This punk…!"

Free lunged at Soul, but he missed by a few feet since the younger male side stepped the ambush quickly and stepped behind the counter. He made sure not to let his red eyes glance at the needles that were now less than a foot away from him – there were more important things at hand.

"Give him the blood, Eruka," Free growled. "If we mess up we'll just have to make more."

"R-Right," Eruka replied timidly as she inched her way around the weapon and his exposed blade. She reached into the case full of needles and pulled out the thickest one; Soul immediately began to feel even more uncomfortable. The witch then connected it to a vile full of a dark liquid that oozed inside of its glass container.

"You're not bringing that thing anywhere near me," Soul warned as he moved his blade in the direction Eruka was approaching him. "I don't know what kind of sick stuff that is, but I don't want anything to do with it."

"It's cute that you think you have a choice," a familiar voice said from the doorway of the cramped room. Soul twisted his head so he could see who the speaker was, but a throbbing pain shot through his flesh arm before he could see clearly. In his last sane seconds, he could have sworn that it was Maka who was watching him with a smile.

* * *

"Kid, come on," Liz beckoned. "If you don't stop now we're going to be late!"

"52…53…How…" Kid mumbled as he scrubbed a tiny spot on his bathroom mirror that he accidentally gotten a bit of toothpaste on. "54… Can I… 55… Stop on any number – 56 – other than 88?"

"Who cares about that?" Liz exclaimed in disbelief. "This whole thing was your idea!"

"How can I stop – 59 – on such an ugly – 60 – uneven number? 61… I was going to simply – 62 – stop on 8 – 63 – but the toothpaste – 64 – wasn't gone!" Kid's vision began to blur with tears as his scrubbing became more erratic. Cleaning the bathroom in the morning was an experience that usually relaxed him and he enjoyed, but now it felt awful. Liz was right; leaving at an hour in the morning was his idea and he couldn't even do it promptly.

As he brought his hand up for the 69th stroke, the mirror disappeared before him in hundreds of pieces of shards. Kid froze and his golden eyes widened in terror as he listened to the soft tinkle of broken glass hit the clean white tile below the sink. Slowly, he looked around and saw that Liz was holding Patty in gun form, which was aimed right at the wall.

"Nice shot, sis!" Patty exclaimed as she jumped out of her pistol form and back into her human body. She then slapped Kid hard on the back, causing him to have the wind knocked out of him for a split second. She broke out in a fit of laughter. "The toothpaste is gone!"

"P-P-P-Patty! Why?" Kid grasped at the jagged pieces of mirror hopelessly. The unsymmetrical outline of the sharp glass disgusted him to the point of speechlessness. He was close to the perfect number and his so called partners had forced to stop on such an ugly, horrible number such as 68.

"Patty, use your scary voice," Liz instructed quickly as she watched Kid's quivering figure grow more violent.

"Get your ass moving, jerk," Patty growled darkly as she gripped Kid's jacket tightly and yanked him back.

"I have to clean this mess!" Kid objected in a loud, terrified tone. "How will I be able to concentrate when I know that a thing like this is here?"

"Shut up!" Patty yelled as she gave the young death god a hard hit on the head. Not being able to hold her laughter in anymore, she allowed something sinister that could be taken as a laugh escape her.

"Look, I cleaned it up already. Let's go." Liz's voice was annoyed and so was her face as she dusted off her hands over the open trashcan. She frowned to herself – in the time that all of that had went on, they probably could have had enough time to let Kid finish his wild routine. Now they were running out of time and short a mirror. "What's more important – our only friends or a stupid mirror?"

Kid took a deep breath and closed his eyes, imagining Maka's seemed metrical appearance to make the decision easier. Though it felt like glass shards were burned through his retinas, he allowed Liz and Patty to carry him off. His limbs were stiff until the warm outside air hit him. He then decided that he would be okay and motioned for the sisters to sit him down. They complied, but their hands remained near him and on alert incase Kid changed his mind and decided to make a run for it.

Kid pulled out Beelzebub and extended it into his skateboard. With one last look at his perfectly symmetrical mansion, he sighed and held out his hands for Liz and Patty to jump into. They followed suit without another word and then they were off.

_I suppose it can't be helped_, Kid thought bitterly as he squinted against the laughing sun. _Good thing Liz cleaned up after herself._

Despite these thoughts, he still counted softly in his mind to settle the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

They flew to the meeting spot quickly. Even though they had a late start, they arrived before Tsubaki and Black Star. It wasn't that great of a feat, but it was a start. Kid tossed his partners into the air carelessly and allowed them to change, not caring to check if they had landed safely on their feet like usual. He was still a little angry about the mirror incident.

"You're late," Nygus noted in an indifferent tone, but her eyes suggested otherwise. Liz was sure if she could see the rest of the dark skinned woman's face – everything but her eyes was covered in gauze – it would be an intimidating sight.

"Sorry about that," Liz apologized with a small bow. She shot Kid a look that clearly read he should be the one apologizing, but with his blank expression, it was apparent he didn't get the message she was conveying.

"So, are we sure we know where the base is?" Kid pressed, ignoring Nygus and Liz's intense glare. It was the sixth time he'd asked the question and each time he seemed surprised to see that the answer had been the same.

"Yes," Sid replied smoothly. He was the only one who could stand answering the questions – or any questions Kid had for that matter. He was a patient man, even after death. "We have multiple sources who have carefully observed this area for a while that can confirm it."

It still frustrated Kid to no end that Shibusen had known about Medusa's whereabouts for a few weeks now, but he had already voiced his opinions about that rather loudly already.

A gust of blue shaded wind blew past Kid and his hair waved violently around his head.

"Nice of you to join us, Black Star," Nygus said with a sigh as the wind slowed to an immediate stop, revealing a grinning Black Star. Tsubaki, in her chain scythe mode, was being tightly clutched in his large hands.

"I decide my own time!" the ninja replied arrogantly as he jutted his nose in the air with a laugh. "Now stop standing around and let's go save Soul and Maka."

"What are you talking about?" Liz accused angrily as she placed her hands on her hips. "You were the last to get here!"

"Ignore him, Liz," Kid instructed as he held out his hand. He was still balanced perfectly on Beelzebub and holding Patty in her gun form in his opposite hand. His partner obeyed her silent orders with a sigh and landed nicely in the Shinigami's hand.

"We're going east," Sid instructed as he motioned for Nygus to turn into her knife self. She complied with a nod and landed in his large blue hands in an instant.

The group set out immediately. Black Star ran in small bursts and waited for the others to catch up – only occasionally taking direction from Sid. Kid flew leisurely on his flying skateboard and admired the vast desert land and all of its symmetry while listening carefully to Sid as to where to fly. Even though he had been assured that they knew where they were going, Kid still kept a sharp eye out for anything out of place.

After hours, Sid finally slowed to a stop. Kid brought down his flying skateboard neatly on the ground and continued to clutch Liz and Patty tightly as he watched Black Star abruptly turn around to come back to them – he had gotten a little too far ahead. Instinctively, the three technicians looked around, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. To Kid's discomfort, the area that they had paused at looked like every other square inch of the desert.

"Are you –?"

Before Kid could finish his question, Sid held up a large blue hand, cutting him off. "When I was alive, my sense of direction was the best out of anyone. I always led the troops because I never got lost."

"Yeah, well, maybe your glory days are over, pal," Black Star mumbled as he kicked the useless dry sand into the air, making sure not to blink when it got into his wide eyes. Only weak people who would never surpass God couldn't withstand the discomfort of the grain in their eyes, not Black Star. He took a deep breath and grasped Tsubaki tighter before starting to yell. "Hey, Medusa! You bitch! Get up here and welcome me, the great Black Star, and pray for your life!"

"Shut up!" Kid snapped as he narrowed his eyes. "What about the plan? This is a sneak attack!"

"I don't do plans," Black Star replied lazily as he took another inhale, this time keeping his dark green eyes on Kid out of spite. "Come on, you stupid witch! Watch as you are defeated by the great me! No one fights Black Star and lives to tell the tale!"

Suddenly, the ground below the three began to rumble almost violently. The technician's jumped to a ready stance and their weapons awoke with a jolt, having felt the vibrations through their hardened metal skin.

"Ha! See? I told you my great plan would work!" the blue haired ninja proclaimed proudly as he puffed out his chest with a grin.

"You never said anything – you just acting on your own," Kid growled. "How can we fight as a team if we can't even ambush as one?"

"But at least I caused something to happen. All you were doing was looking around. Not very productive."

"Idiot!"

"Fake god!"

"Silence!" Sid shouted to the two young students in annoyance. Something big was coming and with the two idiots arguing over nothing, he couldn't quite tell what it was.

A large portion of the Earth opened up and swallowed a chunk of sand that surrounded it. The three technicians took a cautious step back as they anticipated the witch that would inevitably come up on the platform which was protruding from the hole. Just as fast as the shaking began, it stopped and the dust around them settled.

Kid blinked in disbelief.

There, standing where he had expected Medusa to be, a girl with light brown hair in pigtails and angry green eyes stood instead. A slightly tall boy with wild red irises and snow white hair leaned on her partly for support and partly because he could. They both held the expression of absolute insanity, just on entirely different levels.

If Kid didn't know any better, he would have assumed these people were strangers instead of Maka and Soul.

"Well," Black Star said in a flat, disappointed tone. Despite this, a large grin was plastered on his face. "This whole rescue mission was a lot easier than I expected. Did you give 'em a good beating, Soul? I hope Maka wasn't too much trouble."

"Shut up!" Maka screeched as she covered up her ears. Her eyes burned with a passion that they had never held before – or at least none that Kid had seen – and they were aimed right towards the blue haired assassin. "I'm tired of you always saying things like that!"

"Whoa, calm down," Black Star warned as his smile faded and his eyebrows knitted together. "I know you might be a little worked up from the fight you had – don't take it out on me because you didn't wait long enough for us to arrive!"

"Do you ever shut up?" Maka shouted as she gripped Soul's hand tightly.

Kid watched in a frozen stance as Maka gave Soul a hard shake and made a scene that looked as if she had _forced_ her partner to change into his weapon form. In a silent flash, Soul was now a red and black scythe and was being swung through the air violently by a very upset Maka. Right towards Black Star.

"What the hell?" Black Star shouted as he dodged a hard blow, watching with wide eyes as the sand from where he was standing a few seconds ago flew up in distress. "Tsubaki, are you seeing this too?"

"Yes…" Tsubaki replied in a low tone as her reflection appeared in one of her chain scythe blade. "They don't seem to be our friends anymore…"

"I was never your friend," Maka replied with a growl as she brought Soul back and gave him another shake. In a burst, the form that Soul's blade takes when the partners Soul Resonance appeared.

Kid's eyes narrowed as he looked at the scene in front of him. It was obvious that Medusa had done something to Maka to make her take control of Soul like this, and for Soul to just take it without a fight… Well, he couldn't imagine what Medusa had to do to make that work.

"Don't just stand there, Kid!" Liz shouted. "Help Black Star and knock some sense into Maka!"

"Right," Kid said with a nod as he jumped off Beezlebub and quickly walked over to where Maka was holding her threatening stance over the smaller, yet stronger technician.

"Maka, stop this," Sid attempted to reason. "Whatever Medusa did to you, Shibusen can –"

"Screw Shibusen," Maka spat. "Screw all of you to hell!" With the blunt end of Soul, she brought it down hard on the top of Black Star's skull to prove a point. He fell to the ground with a thud.

"You idiot! Is this how you thank the person who came here to save you?" Black Star shouted angrily as he held his throbbing head. Normally he would have been angry that his opponent had used the dull end of their weapon to attack someone as great as him, but he couldn't be bothered with feeling that now. Plus, this was Maka. Not some random moronic bad guy he had to assassinate.

"Saving? I don't want to be saved. I belong here. Isn't that what you think?" Maka's grip on Soul's metal shaft tightened. "All witches are evil. All witches do bad things. All witches deserve to die."

"What the hell are you talking about? It's pissing me off!" Black Star replied wildly. "Yo, Soul, can you hear me? Your girlfriend has gotten a large dose of crazy sauce."

"Black Star," Sid warned as he cut his dead eyes, "stop provoking her."

Somewhere in a warm, dark place inside of his mind, Soul was hearing everything that was going on. He tried to take control of his body, but it felt like all of his nerves were constrained by Maka's anger. He could feel the red emotion pulsate through his own veins and he tried his hardest not to let it affect him too much.

_Fuck_, he snarled as he felt Maka swing him hard through the air. He watched as he landed dangerously close to Kid. _I've lost myself_.

When had this happened? The last thing he remembered was when he was getting that freaky black stuff injected into him and staring at a really pissed off Maka. Now he understood why Maka didn't try to save him like he wanted her to… Medusa had done something. This wasn't the same Maka he'd been with for years; this was almost like someone else entirely.

His mind had become somewhat clearer since he woke up about ten minutes ago, but only enough for a few sane thoughts to seep in. It wasn't as if he was having _in_sane thoughts, though. It was like he wasn't having any thoughts at all… As if whatever the witch Eruka had put in him was controlling him with such ease that he couldn't win no matter how hard he fought.

He pressed against the constraints of the inside of his mind, but nothing happened. He tried to scream out in frustration, but the surrounding cage of his subconscious only tightened and nothing came out.

_Damnit, damnit, damnit!_ He cursed desperately as he felt himself being swung through the air again, this time towards Sid. They were talking, but Soul couldn't hear anything anymore. He was too focused on gaining control of his own body again. How was Maka able to swing him around with such ease? They were partners for a reason, and this had nothing to do with partnership.

Soul involuntarily pictured a small red devilish looking creature and stopped his inward thrashing suddenly.

Soul wanted to ask who he was, but as expected, nothing came out. His inner vision became clouded like it was when he first came to and the image of the strange being in his mind flickered a bit. But his smile was large and taunting.

"Who am I?" the little devil sneered at Soul's unasked question. "I am your puppeteer. I will make you stronger. I will help you fight with Maka in a way that you've never fought before – isn't that what you want? Stop fighting me and give into what is right."

_This… This isn't right_, Soul thought. He figured that since he was already nestled away in his mind he didn't have to try to voice things aloud. _I want to be stronger, but…_

"There are no _but_s when it comes to being stronger. For you, there is only one way. Hand your body and mind over to me and you will be strong." A rather large red hand reached out and beckoned towards Soul.

Soul clung on hard to his sanity and snarled. There was no way he was going to give into something uncool and stupid looking like that midget of an ogre. Especially not his body. Sure, he had obviously already lost some of his movements to it, but it wasn't anything he could win back. It was apparent that the entity was nervous of him doing just that which was why he was trying to persuade Soul to do otherwise, so it must be possible.

Slowly, Soul's lips curled up into a wild smile, showing the majority of his razor sharp teeth. Of course it was possible – it was him, after all. The ultra suave Soul Evans could do anything, especially when it came to taking control of things. In the coolest way possible.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater

**A/N:** I'm really sorry for the lack of updates these past few months… I know I suck haha. I was really busy what with the last month of school and exams (which turned into the first month of school), and then my life decided to explode, along with my computer. But it's settling down a little now!

I'm really sad to say that the next chapter of this will be the last. This story means a lot to me and the fact that I've been writing it for all of these months is surprising, as I've stated before. Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews. You inspire me to write more with your encouraging words *heart* I'll probably write a longer sappy A/N with the next chapter so I'm done writing now. Enjoy!

Thanks to ToastWeaselofDOOM for the wonderful beta work!

* * *

Maka's chest heaved with heavy ragged breaths and her wild eyes danced around her three opponents. Her arms were low – it looked as if she was struggling to hold Soul. Her shoulders shook with soft giggles. She had finally exited anger and entered insanity.

"Guh," Black Star muttered as he wiped blood off of his face. "This is getting annoying. A big guy like me shouldn't be beat up by someone like Maka."

"Don't underestimate her, moron," Kid cautioned as he gave Liz and Patty a shake in order to tighten his grip. He hadn't fired any shots yet and he hoped he wouldn't have to. With the way things were starting to intensify, however, it looked as if he might. "This isn't Maka anymore."

"What are you talking about? This is Maka. She talks like Maka, walks like Maka, fights like Maka, and," Black Star smiled, "she's weak like Maka."

"I'm not weak!" Maka shouted. Her voice didn't seem to match her expression in a way no one could put their finger on. "This is why I hate you!"

Maka swung back Soul – who was back in his normal scythe form – with a loud yell. She ran up quickly to Black Star and brought the black and red blade down with what looked like all of her might.

Dust rose around them in a storm, temporarily blinding Kid and causing him to lose his view of the small battle. He rubbed his golden Shinigami eyes with the back of his hands to clear his sight. When he opened his eyes again, he couldn't help but gasp.

Black Star was holding back Soul's blade with a new blade of his own. Tattoos Kid was sure that had never been there before swirled around the blue-haired ninja's face. The whites in Black Star's eyes had completely vanished, leaving his face looking frightening and demonic. The air around him vibrated with his battle cries and a new kind of wavelength filled Kid's senses.

What move was this? The power the young assassin emitted was almost as great as Kid's –if not on par with it. How was that even possible? Why hadn't Black Star told everyone that he was capable of something like this?

Maka went flying backwards at a great, forceful speed. By the look of her shocked expression, she hadn't expected such strength from Black Star either.

"Che." She clicked her tongue. "You've gotten even stronger."

"Of course I have!" Black Star boasted in a terrifying tone. "I am a man who will surpass God – I will never stop growing stronger!"

"Black Star has been practicing with Tsubaki in the uncanny sword mode for a while, Maka," Sid said gruffly. "He is stronger than you – surrender or we will have to kill you."

"Kill me?" Maka repeated slowly as her eyes narrowed in confusion. "How would you be able to do that?"

"Sid," Kid said slowly, "we can't kill Maka."

"I was always a man of reason when I was alive, Kid. Don't get me wrong. But with the intensity of hatred in Maka's wavelength, if she doesn't die, we will."

"But this is Maka!" Tsubaki shouted – her voice was different sounding whilst in uncanny sword mode, too. "No matter what, she's still our friend. Maka is Maka!"

"If anything, we'll rough her up a bit," Liz compromised.

"Knock, shoot, and beat some sense into her!" Patty agreed. "Right, sis?"

Sid sighed, but even he knew he couldn't change the student's mind.

"How… stupid."

The group turned their attention back to Maka, who was standing in the same spot a few feet away with her head down. She had loosened her grip on Soul now – his blade was dug into the ground. Slowly, she raised her face enough to make her tear-filled eyes visible.

"You piss me off so much!" She shouted as she closed her eyes, knocking down the welling water. "Don't underestimate me!"

With that, she let go of Soul completely and let him drop to the ground with a soft thud. For a moment, Kid felt relieved. When the girl raised her hands, however, he realized that she was not surrendering. She was going to use magic.

Static filled the air as the wind picked up and whipped around them all violently. Despite her sad eyes, a small smile formed on Maka's lips as she uttered incoherent words under her breath. The technicians and weapons watched in a stunned silence as Maka built up a purple mass of energy. Kid recognized it from when he fought the two witches over a year ago. It was Medusa's lackeys' magic.

"I'll show you the extent of my power," Maka said with an insane giggle. "Congratulate me now; you'll be dead in a minute."

"Maka, stop!" Tsubaki shouted as she leapt out of Black Star's hands and landed next to him. She was now in her human form. Her purple-blue eyes were sad, and a little scared. "You don't want to do this!"

"Idiot!" Nygus yelled – her shout mingled with Kid's similar insult. "Get back in your weapon form!"

"Maka, calm down and remember everything you've fought for," Tsubaki continued almost desperately, ignoring the other's shouts.

"I've only fought being who I really am! That school full was of witch hating idiots and made me hate myself. What I'm doing now is what I'm supposed to do!" Maka's voice wavered – it sounded as if she was trying to convince herself of this, too.

"That isn't true and you know it, Maka," Kid said with force. "My father's school teaches the difference between right and wrong as well as good versus evil. No one has ever said that all witches are evil."

"But what about Medusa? What has she done?" Maka shouted with desperation. "What about Mama?"

"No one was even thinking about Medusa or your mother before she sent those witches to Death City. Don't you remember what one of her followers did to Soul?" Sid exclaimed feverishly. Shibusen had been his home all of his life – and afterlife. Though Maka's crazed arguments were somewhat logical, he felt a loyalty and shot them down without hesitation.

"Sh… Shut up!" Maka screamed. Her eyes cut into slits once more and everyone's attention was brought back to the now huge energy mass in her hands. It looked frighteningly powerful. The three technicians and Tsubaki took a nervous step back.

"K-Kid," Liz stammered. "She's not really going to…?"

Before Liz could finish her semi rhetorical question, a large blast sounded. It was devastatingly loud and bright. Instinctively, they all closed their eyes and braced themselves against the inevitable impact Maka's magic would thrust onto them, but it never came.

Tsubaki slowly opened one eye, but reflexes caused it to shut immediately. From what she did see through the flying sand, it looked as if everyone was in the same healthy state she was in. Sand pelted her in all directions like a thousand bee stings and she so desperately wanted to turn into a weapon to protect herself, but she stood her ground. After a little over a minute, the air settled and she opened her eyes again, gasping at the sight in front of her in surprise.

Soul stood over Maka, who was on the ground, with his right arm replaced with a blade that was pressed dangerously close to her throat. His chest heaved with heavy breaths and his free hand was clutching his head. It was obvious that he had just single handedly fought and won an inner war. His eyes were still wild, but it was definitely the sane Soul Tsubaki knew.

"This stops now, Maka." His gruff voice cracked slightly, but his blade never wavered.

"What are you doing?" Maka asked. Her face was twisted into a confused expression.

"What are _you_ doing, Maka?" Soul replied as he raised his eyebrows. He was saying her name repeatedly in order to draw her out of whatever the hell Medusa had done to her.

"I…" Maka stumbled over unrecognizable words before hanging her head in what could be called shame. "I don't know."

Slowly, Maka's face shifted from the sharp, angular expression it held before into something more normal. Her eyes softened considerably.

Soul's blade turned back into his right arm in a flash. His strong stance was gone now and his knees buckled from underneath him. He fell forward, landing on a stunned Maka.

"S-Soul!" Maka was definitely back to her old self. "Are you okay?"

"Stupid," Soul replied in a strained voice. "That should be my line."

They stared at each other in silence for a long moment before Sid and Nygus – now in her human form – appeared by their side. Soul and Maka's eyes never unlocked as they allowed their bodies to be searched for any wounds – which thankfully neither had anything worse than excessively caked dirt on their skin. Even when their friends ran up to them and started asking questions feverishly, the intense red orbs never once left the scared green ones.

"Idiot!" Liz sobbed as she hugged Maka close. "I thought you were going to kill me back there! Don't do that ever, ever again!"

"Trust me, I won't," Maka laughed as she allowed herself to be crushed by Liz's love in the form of a bear hug. "I really don't know what came over me."

"This ain't cool. Get off of me," Soul grumbled as he attempted to shove off the blue-haired ninja who was clinging to him in a similar fashion as Liz was to Maka. He turned to his technician and continued to ignore his clinging friend. "What did Medusa do to you during your training?"

Maka wrinkled her brow and attempted to remember what had happened. One minute she had been fighting Crona and the next Medusa was agitating her. She remembered Medusa's cool breath blowing on her face and how she suddenly felt too hot for her skin. That was when she had gotten really angry, so was it because of Medusa blowing on her face?

"I guess she tweaked with my emotions a little," Maka finally said with a sheepish laugh. She didn't want to let Soul know that she had fought someone without him – he would get too angry.

"It seems I underestimated your will power, Maka."

The group turned around suddenly to see Medusa standing above them on an elevated platform similar to what Soul and Maka arrived on. Her arms were crossed and her orange eyes held a playful glint as she stared at Maka with a sly smile on her borrowed face.

"…Or my magic as grown weak," she continued with a mock sigh. "Since _you_ were able to fight it, that seems to be the case."

"She's bluffing, Maka," Soul growled. "She wants you to feel weaker."

"Why would I do that if I look weaker in the process?" Medusa asked with forced appall.

"Because you know about Maka's insecurities," Soul replied quickly with narrowed eyes. His eyebrows had almost become one because of how closely they were knitted together with anger. His hands clenched into fists.

"Stop talking about me like I'm not even here!" Maka finally exclaimed. She looked at Soul. "I'm not as insecure as you think, dummy." Her green eyes dragged themselves up wearily to Medusa whose face held an unreadable emotion. It wasn't the same pleased expression it always held though and that was more than enough to satisfy Maka.

"I believe you," Soul shrugged in a nonchalant way. To Maka, however, it meant everything.

"Cute, but save it for your own time," Medusa snapped suddenly. "Don't forget who these people are and what they think of us."

"Don't put me on the same level as you," Maka replied flatly. "These people are my friends. While I don't know what they think of me, I know what I think of them."

Medusa released a cold laugh. "Really, you're adorable. Unfortunately, this isn't some shoujo manga where your faith in your comrades is your saving grace. This is the real world."

Maka did feel a bit stupid for her words, but she still stood her ground. Medusa was right, this was the real world. If you wavered for just one second, your enemy would never take pity on you. You would be destroyed in moments without a doubt.

"I'll show you just how ignorant you are," Medusa challenged suddenly just as Kid opened his mouth to speak on behalf of his father. With a smooth wave of her hand, an electric spark smarted in the air.

Soul's body gave a jolt and his arm turned into a scythe blade. His eyes widened with shock – he hadn't done that himself. Something inside him churned dangerously. His vision swam for a minute of chaos, and when it cleared his blade was pressed against Maka's throat.

"What are you doing, Soul-kun?" Tsubaki shouted with a gasp. "Maka-chan is okay now!"

"Do you really think I'm doing this?" Soul rasped a retort as he grabbed his right shoulder with his left hand and gave it a hard pull. "Damnit!"

"I have complete control over your weapon – he's infected with Crona's black blood. If I wanted him to, he could kill you." That stupid smug grin Maka hated appeared on Medusa's face once more.

Maka stared at Soul with wide, frightened eyes. His face was twisted into something she couldn't read very well and his free hand clutched his arm-turned-blade tightly. She heard him grunt a few times as he fought whatever it was that was controlling him and lost all hope. There was no way Soul could fight this twice in less than a thirty minute span. She dropped her head and released a resigned sigh.

"I'll do whatever you want, Medusa. Just leave Soul out of this."

"Why do you say that, puppy?" Medusa mocked. "Because you love him?"

"Of course," Maka replied sternly. "Because I love him."

"Stupid, what are you saying? There's a time for saying stuff like that and it's not now," Soul said in a low tone. He gave a humorless, devilish grin and grabbed Maka's hand tightly, stunning her. He shot Medusa a look and the smile became wider. He had spent enough time fighting whatever the hell Medusa had done to him and he wasn't going to do it anymore. "Stop wasting time, Maka."

With a somewhat unspoken agreement, Maka allowed Soul's metal shaft to slip coolly into her hands. She drank in Medusa's shocked expression with her own smile of pleasure.

Maka threw a look over her shoulder at her friends. "I could really use some help."

"That's what I like to hear!" Black Star exclaimed happily as he caught Tsubaki's spinning blades. "You can't do this without the amazing me!"

"I'm tired of being a background character who only says things to fill areas between the actual plot," Liz admitted. "I want to do some stuff, too!"

"Me, too, Sis!" Patty laughed in agreement, giving a fist pump before joining her sister in transforming into their gun shape.

"Whatever you do," Maka cautioned, "don't kill her."

"Yeah, yeah, your mom's body and all that junk," Black Star scoffed.

"No," Maka laughed. "I'm just being a little selfish." Her face took on a more serious expression. "I want to be the one who does it."

"'It'?" Black Star paused. "You mean…?"

"Maka?" Kid questioned slowly. "Don't be stupid. You're not really going to –"

"Shut up," Maka said with forced cheerfulness. "It's my duty as a Shibusen student to annihilate all evil."

Medusa backed up and narrowed her eyes. "Do you children really think you're a match for me? Even with an already dead three-star meister on your side, you won't win."

"If it's us, we'll win," Sid replied.

"What's that all about?" Nygus said from her knife with a small, almost silent laugh.

"I'm hanging around these kids too much," Sid admitted with a half hearted laugh of his own. He pulled his simple weapon out of his sheath and gripped it tightly. "It's softening me up."

"Well, let's go back to being your old self for a moment. You can play with your ponies later." Despite her flat voice, Sid knew Nygus was using her dry humor and smiled to himself the best that he could with his physical state.

"You won't even be able to come near me!" Medusa exclaimed with a laugh. She waved her hand in the direction of the approaching group. "Vector Arrow."

A line of arrows materialized before them. Soul clicked his tongue.

"Go around," he instructed. He saw that Medusa's eyes were on Black Star and Sid, giving the other two technicians and their weapons the benefit of the blind spot.

Maka obeyed and, thankfully, Kid caught on quickly, following suit in the opposite direction. Soul watched as Black Star hit an arrow hard and flew back almost just as hard with a strong gust of wind.

"How did you know that would happen?" Maka questioned. She'd never seen Medusa's defensive magic, so why had Soul?

"I didn't," Soul admitted hesitantly. Truth be told, he wasn't too sure himself. "Just a hunch."

"Do you really think those puny things can hold me back?" Black Star said with a grin as he stood up and dusted off his pants.

"Ah, so my magic has weakened…" Medusa clicked her tongue in an almost mocking way. "This body is restricting my actions."

"You wouldn't be able to hold me back regardless," Black Star challenged with a large grin. "I'm the man who will surpass God! You're just a small fry. I almost feel bad for you!"

"Well that's no good," Medusa said with a smile. "Didn't anyone tell you not to take pity upon your enemy?"

"Has anyone told you that you talk too much?" Black Star shot back as he began running again at full speed. "Oi, Tsubaki, Uncanny Sword mode!"

"Right!"

Tsubaki flashed in Black Star's hands as she changed shape into the long sword that took Black Star so long just to hold onto for five seconds. Tattoo's swirled around his face in a taunting way and he smiled wide, dodging a few slow attacks that the witch threw at him. His grin only grew in size when he saw the frustrated look on the witch's face.

"You still think you can beat me?" he yelled at the top of his lungs, griping Tsubaki's hilt even tighter. His palms burned with friction but, if anything, it made him run faster. An erratic laugh escaped his lips, echoing through the endless desert. "All I've gotta do is outrun those little arrow things, right? Boring!"

"Don't underestimate me," Medusa growled, zeroing in on the blue-haired assassin.

"Idiot, what is he doing?" Liz ticked as she watched Black Star's large showy movements from Kid's hand.

"He's being the distraction." Kid frowned and continued to charge forward, growing closer to the area Medusa was residing. "It's the perfect role for someone as loud as him."

"I wanna piss the witch off, too!" Patty exclaimed with a shrill giggle. "Shoot at the bitch, Kid-kun!"

"We'll wait our turn," Kid replied passively. He was used to Patty's impulsive determination and could tolerate it even better than her older sister, who just sighed in annoyance. "Maka wants to go for the kill."

"Do you think she'll actually do it?" Liz asked with a frown. She moved her eyes over to the long haired witch. That was Maka's mother's body, after all. Liz hadn't known her mom, but even still, she couldn't imagine killing the same person who gave her life no matter what the circumstances where.

"I don't know – che," Kid gasped as he dodged a stray arrow that Black Star had accidentally sent flying in his direction. Why was it taking so long to get to Medusa? It felt like they had been running for ten minutes now and it shouldn't have taken longer than three.

His eyes widened with realization.

"Maka!" he shouted over at the pigtailed girl desperately. They were a good thirty feet apart from each other – would she be able to hear him in time? He shouted her name again, trying to maneuver his feet so that he could get closer with out stopping.

Maka looked over curiously at her yelling comrade and gave him a look that asked him what was happening. She wasn't a Shinigami like he was, and the dust that was flying around her face must have been suffocating her too much to speak. Kid briefly wondered if she was even able to see through the dirt.

"We're not going anywhere!" he exclaimed, motioning to the ground with animated movements.

Maka looked down in confusion and gasped. The sand that she had been enduring on was moving like a treadmill around her. An area about fifteen feet wide and three feet long was moving in what looked like a cycle into the earth and above again, giving the illusion that when she was actually going somewhere when she was running. Her eyes widened and her heartbeat hard in her chest – so Medusa had been playing with her this entire time? She had thought she'd been getting so close to destroying her, but she was just uselessly tiring herself out.

"Damnit!" she shouted angrily, running sideways so that she could get closer to where the trap was ending. She swung Soul around so that his blade dug into the dry earth and used him as a pole to vault her away from the moving ground. Her boots slid a dangerous distance due to the lack of traction the sand gave her, but she hung on tightly to Soul to steady herself. Her knees buckled slightly – she had just been running as fast as she could while using every bit of energy she could conjure up.

"It felt like we were going somewhere," Soul mumbled from inside his weapon form. He looked at his partner's forlorn face regrettably. "I should have guessed she had something else up her sleeve."

"It's not your fault, Soul," Maka huffed. She paused and attempted to catch her breath. Medusa was occupied enough at the moment to not notice that she had escaped the trick she had set for her in a split second. Her green eyes drifted over to Kid to see he was still running with a determined look on his face. Her expression softened – he was trying to act as a distraction along side Black Star for her sake.

"Shouldn't we get off this thing, too, Kid?" Liz asked curiously as she watched Maka regain her composure and discuss a few things with her weapon.

"No," Kid replied simply. "Medusa may be powerful, but she only has two eyes. If she sees that I'm still fooled by this she'll assume that Maka is, too. I'm a Shinigami – running like this for a long time is nothing."

"What if she looks over at Maka first and not us?" Liz replied in a worried tone.

"I guess we'll worry about that when we get to it, right now isn't the time." Kid pressed forward with only half of his might – he might need the rest of it for later. "I'm willing to take any chance I get right now."

"Ready, Maka?" Soul asked. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Maka replied as she steadied herself and regained composure. "Let's go. This time, for real."

Though her mind felt exhausted from everything she'd been through in the past few days, adrenaline pumped out of her heart and raced through her veins, allowing her to keep going. She leaned back on Soul and pulled his blade from the ground, flipping it so that she was relying on the shaft. She positioned her feet to grip the ground hard and drew a large breath. In an instant, she pushed off and they were running faster than they were before towards the hovering witch.

Anticipation built up inside of her. All she needed was one good hit. Medusa was firing all she had at Black Star and Sid – who had gotten back up on his feet after a few minutes of unconsciousness – and was obviously overwhelmed. It made Maka even more excited to see such a distressed look on the witch's face. Up to this point, Medusa had shown nothing but amusement and anger, so it was good to see her show another, more satisfying, expression.

Soul felt Maka's antsy feeling and felt something like it, too. The puppet master-esque demon from before was staring at him with a large annoying smile. Soul wanted nothing more than to run across the room and beat it off of him, but that would mean he would lose concentration on the fight.

"Do you feel Maka Albarn's wavelength?" the little devil said in an all too happy voice. A grin that was too large for his face appeared and he stuck his oversized hands over it as if he was trying to hide it, but in the end, he only made it more noticeable. "Doesn't it seem to have a song?"

Soul's eyes snapped over to the devil in surprise. How did he know about what he always thought about Maka's soul? He was sure he hadn't told anyone else – ever. Ever since the opening day and Maka touched him in his weapon form for the first time, he'd always thought there was a melody drifting out of her. He'd figured it was because of his musical past and habit of comparing everything to songs, but it seemed as if Maka's soul really did have a tune.

"If her song had lyrics, what do you think they would say?" the devil pressed, drawing an inch closer.

Soul glanced up at Maka and narrowed his eyes. He'd thought about a lot of things with Maka, but he'd never considered that. He'd even composed a small piece based off of her Soul Song, but he hadn't thought of any lyrics. If he ever did, what would they say?

"I think," Little Devil began, not waiting for Soul to answer himself, "that Miss Albarn's lyrics would say '_I want to be stronger_' or something along those lines, don't you?"

"Yeah…" Soul said after a few beats of silence.

Maka was rapidly approaching Medusa and her speed was still increasing.

"If you give me the reins again, Soul Evans, I can make both you and Maka stronger than you can even imagine. Maka will be able to defeat Medusa. Isn't her happiness your happiness?"

"You're being awfully quiet in there, Soul," Maka's voice thundered in. "I hope you're paying attention, because… look."

Soul looked. Directly above them hovered Medusa, seemingly oblivious to the teenagers below her since she was focusing on a certain blue-haired one who just wouldn't stop screaming obscenities and insults towards her.

"There isn't much time, Soul Evans," the little devil whispered feverishly, as if he was scared to be overheard. "Give me just a little control and I'll make it so Maka can destroy her mother and Medusa in one blow."

Soul looked back and forth between his meister and the devil from his subconscious with a torn expression. He was unbelievably tempted to give the little devil what he wanted, but…

"Will Maka be effected like before?" Soul asked finally, realizing he didn't have much time to think things thoroughly.

"Oh, no, no," the devil replied cheerfully with a wave of its oversized hands. "Your power up is all she really needs."

Soul couldn't tell if the red creature was lying or not, but there weren't many options to take. He tightened his fist and stared at the demon with a cold determined face.

"We can handle this without you."

* * *

"Black Star, please stop!" Tsubaki's voice screamed, drawing Maka's attention towards her friends for a moment.

Her eyes widened. Black Star was barely recognizable with all of the damage he had taken. Large areas of his face were splattered with blood and his clothes were ripped in a disorderedly fashion. He was gripping the arm that held Tsubaki with his free hand and his teeth were bared in a menacing expression. His head was low, but his eyes were burning with an intensity Maka had never seen before. They held a glint that seemed to say that the lovingly stupid Black Star she'd known all of her life was gone and someone who would fight until they were nothing more than a single cell stood there.

"You're an idiot," Medusa said with a smile. "You were born an idiot and you will die an idiot."

"Not today, bitch," Black Star grumbled as he gave his sword a shake in attempt to regain his balance. "Today is your day to die."

"Are you still spouting that nonsense? When are you and your friends going to realize that you're no match for me? This is nothing more than a waste of my time since I already know the outcome." To prove her point, Medusa shot out a thin arrow from her hand and struck Black Star on his left shoulder lightly. It was enough to send the boy stumbling back.

"I won't lose!" Black Star yelled with frustration. "I will be victorious!"

A shrill peel of laughter escaped the snake witch's mouth at the ninja's words. She raised her hands and uttered the words that unleashed her fury in the form of a thousand razor sharp arrows, flying all around. A cluster struck at Black Star and he dodged it just barely. Not one second after those arrows disappeared into the sandy earth, another set attacked in a cobra like fashion, knocking the assassin off his center balance point. Before he could compose himself, at least fifty arrows shot towards him and pierced through his arms, causing him to let go of his weapon and drop to the ground in shock.

"Black Star!" Tsubaki screamed in horror as she watched her technician's blood taint the golden sand around them. She fought the urge to return to her human form for the slim chance that Black Star would grab her again and return to fighting. She bit her lip nervously – no matter how strong he was, he couldn't continue fighting this battle alone. The others had to act fast.

"Go, Maka! Now is your chance!" Kid shouted as he fired off a few shots of his wavelength through his weapons. He was still running the makeshift treadmill half heartedly while pouring every ounce of energy he had left into his attacks towards the stray arrows of Medusa's. She had attacked him at the same time so he didn't get the chance to fend off the flying knives in time to save Black Star.

"This is it," Maka breathed. Her grip tightened on Soul and she stared wide eyed at the form above her. "I can… I can kill her."

"Don't hesitate, Maka," Soul growled. "Do it."

"Soul Resonance – Witch Hunter!" the duo shouted in unison.

For some reason, his shaft felt different than before. It was buzzing and it sparked in her hands along with the air around them. Her heart raced with an unknown emotion that scared her for a second, but she quickly brushed the uneasy feeling to the corner of her mind and focused on what was in front of her. Or rather, what was above her.

Without hesitating anymore, she dug her heels into the ground and kicked off, feeling the rush of the wind as she leapt up so that she was on eye level with Medusa. She reared Soul back and swung blindly, but to no avail. Medusa had dropped faster than the scythe had been thrust; she was already on the ground when Maka had landed.

Madness knocked on the door of Maka's mind, but she ignored it. She wanted to be fully conscious when she ripped Medusa to shreds. There were so many ways she wanted to kill the person she hated, but none of them involved being crazy during it. The madness would just have to wait until another time.

With a scream of frustration, she drew Soul back and brought him forward quickly. She angled his blade perfectly so that it would be a clean cut to the witch's black soul.

* * *

"_Maka, look," Kami said excitedly as she pointed out in the horizon. "Do you see that big building on top of that hill?"_

"_The one with all the skulls?" a six year old Maka asked in reply. She held her small hand above her eyes to shield them from the rays of the desert sun. Wind blew around them, swirling the sand that was below their feet into the air._

"_That's Shibusen – Death Weapon Meister Academy," Kami explained almost dreamily. "That's where Mama met Papa and turned him into a Death Scythe."_

"_Oooh," Maka replied, fascinated by the building._

"_Maybe one day you'll go there, too." Kami paused and looked at her young daughter curiously. "I wonder if you're a weapon or a meister."_

"_I wanna be a witch like Mama!" Maka replied with a laugh, not understanding what exactly a meister was. She knew what a weapon was – it was what her stupid father was – but she'd never heard the name meister before._

"_A witch like Mama, huh?" Kami repeated slowly. Her green eyes looked sad for a moment as she gazed at Shibusen from her spot in the desert. The mother and daughter often did this – they left Carson City for a day or so to stand at the gate of Death City just to stare at it. Maka never understood why until it was too late – her mother missed Death City and the life it had given her._

"_Look at what I can do!" Maka exclaimed as she held out her small hands. She moved them with the kind of grace she mocked from her mother and a pillar of sand rose. The six year old Maka concentrated on it hard – it was still for a moment before it wobbled and eventually fell down to its original spot. "I'm getting better!"_

"_That's great, Maka," Kami said warmly as she hugged her daughter. "That's really wonderful. You're going to be an amazing witch."_

_Maka giggled happily and did her simple trick again and again while her mother looked wistfully at Death City. Even though they were in their separate worlds, they were together. It was pure happiness to a naïve and childish Maka.  


* * *

_

"Well?" Medusa smiled with a low giggle. "Are you just going to stare at me or are you going to kill me?"

Maka looked at her mother's face with a frozen expression. She had the same eyes that had looked lovingly at her daughter for years. She had the same thin pink lips that had kissed Maka's injuries, smiled at Maka's childish silliness, and released countless whispers of her motherly love. It was the same nose that wrinkled whenever she was confused or disgusted – usually with the outcome of Maka's cooking skills. They were the same eyebrows that rose playfully whenever she teased Maka…

How could Maka destroy a face which held so many memories that were so important?

Her knees buckled and she dropped to the ground. Her gloved hands buried themselves in the desert sand and she desperately wished that she could shove her head down there along with them. She wanted to disappear and never, ever show her face to her friends who had put so much faith in her while she couldn't even kill someone she hated so much just because of their outer appearance.

"I can't… I can't do it," Maka stammered as tears stung her dry, dirt abused eyes. She was staring at the ground with wide, unblinking eyes, but she saw nothing. It was all blurring together due to the tears that continued to well and spill over against her will.

"Thought so," Medusa sneered. "You're even weaker than I thought. I'm disappointed… You're truly pathetic."

"Mama," Maka whispered through her tears. She hung her head lower so that her enemy could no longer see her red face. "Mama, please…"

"Shouldn't you be begging for your life from someone else? Your mother can't save you, puppy," Medusa teased with a sadistic smile.

"Mama!" Maka shouted, ignoring the witches taunts. Her head flew up desperately to look into the borrowed orange eyes and she continued her shouts. "Mama, I know you can hear me! Tell me what to do – I don't know what to do!"

The thick air was silent for a moment. After what felt like hours, Maka hung her head in embarrassment at her feeble attempts. Of course her mother wouldn't somehow fight her way past Medusa just because Maka called to her. It was impossible.

Just when she was about to give up, a familiar voice caused her head to snap up with sudden urgency.

"Maka." Kami's face was soft, but yet strained at the same time.

Maka's eyes were wide. Her mouth opened to say something, but nothing but a rush of air came out. She let out a cough and continued to gape at her mother in silence.

"Listen to me, Maka, and listen well," Kami said in a rushed voice. "You know what you have to do to end this. There's no way out for me anymore. You can't keep fighting to save me because there is barely anything left of me to save. Just look at my soul, Maka. It's almost gone."

Maka did as she was told and felt bile rise up to her throat. Just as her mother said, the witch's soul was being overtaken by Medusa's.

"Kill her, Maka," Kami whispered hoarsely. Her face twisted into a painful expression and her arms were limp at her side – the only control the woman had was over her own voice, but even that was wavering.

Maka's eyes widened in horror. "But –"

"Kill her."

The desert air was dry and silent. For a short moment, it was just the mother and daughter staring at each other intensely. Kami's eyes were warm a smile played at her lips for a moment before a long sigh left her lips.

She opened her mouth to speak, but an arrow shot out of her throat and headed towards Maka in rapid speed.

"Maka, look out!" Soul shouted as he transformed into his human form. Onslaughts of arrows were speeding towards his technician while she was in no state to comprehend what was happening around her. In a split second, his arm was a blade and he cut through the deadly weapons with difficulty. When he had dismembered one of them, another one was coming at them. Anxiety was budding in his chest and he started to panic – this was almost too much for him to handle by himself.

Right when he was beginning to be overwhelmed, another scythe blade tore through the arrows with ease. Soul paused and looked behind him to see a small cloud of smoke coming from a cigarette in Dr. Stein's mouth which was in a small smirk. In his hands was the Death Scythe – Maka's father. Where did they come from?

"We've got it from here," Stein said simply. "Take Maka and get with the others for now."

Soul nodded in agreement, too awe struck to say anything. He picked up Maka and heaved her over his shoulder with a grunt. In a normal situation, Soul would have made a snide comment about her heaviness, but this wasn't a normal situation… In a normal situation, Maka would still be fighting and not immobile from shock.

Soul threw a glance over his shoulder after he had walked a safe enough distance away. Dr. Stein tossed his cigarette on the ground and spun Death Scythe around a few times, digging the shaft into the sand.

_So cool…_

"Soul?" Maka mumbled as he laid her limp body down. Four small trickles of blood ran down her face in a gory fashion; so it wasn't just emotional stress that had caused her collapse… Soul took this chance to look at the rest of her – there was blood and dirt caked all over her body and clothes.

"Yeah?" he asked, rolling down his shirt so he could wipe the sticky substance away from her eyes.

"Sorry." A dull smile that never reached her eyes appeared on her face. "I really am weak, aren't I?" She paused and looked away. "Don't answer that… I just wish I could be stronger somehow."

_I just wish I could be stronger somehow_.

Soul's eyes widened for a moment as something clicked inside of him. He pictured the smiling red creature that invaded his mind and clenched his teeth with a groan.

"I can make you stronger, Maka…" he said slowly, "but I can't promise your sanity."

Maka's eyes widened and she sat up quickly. She threw her hands behind her to steady her lightheadedness from sitting up too fast and stared at Soul hard for a few minutes. Finally, she spoke.

"Why the hell didn't you say that earlier, idiot?"

"We were kind of in a hurry," Soul reminded her with a sigh. He plopped down on the ground in front of her and crossed his legs, burying his hands between them in the sand. "This black blood crap Medusa put in me is messing with my mind. I don't even know if it'll work."

"What choices do we have?" Maka exclaimed exasperatedly. Her expression softened slightly. "No sane person can kill her mother, Soul."

"I hate when you word it that way," Soul said with a closed eye. He rubbed his neck awkwardly. "I don't know if I want to do it, though. I don't want anything bad to happen to you because of me."

Maka shot out her hand and grabbed Soul by his shirt, bringing him closer. Her other hand went up the opening she created, feeling his bare chest.

"What are you –?"

"You've already gotten hurt enough because of me! You can't even tolerate magic pressure because of this scar!" She ran her hand down the risen skin. "You have this unnatural black blood flowing inside of you apparently, and you wouldn't if it weren't for me." She let him go, sending him back into the sand. "Honestly, Soul, I don't care if anything happens to me."

"You have got to be the biggest idiot I know!" Soul shouted in aggravation. "I already told you that I don't care about that stuff!"

"And I already told you that I don't care that _you_ don't care," Maka snapped in retaliation, narrowing her eyes in a stubborn expression. "We've got to defeat Medusa and the only way to do it is to kill her. We'd be doing a lot of people a favor this way – who cares if I lose my life in the process?"

"What the hell is with this hero talk? That is so not cool," Soul huffed. "We're not heroes, Maka."

Maka froze at that statement and the intensity in her eyes turned into a burning glare. Soul watched as her face contorted from blank to pissed.

"Stupid Soul!" she exploded. "Stupid, dense, oblivious, idiotic, dumbass Soul!" She didn't even seem to mind that her insults were horribly redundant. "You don't get it! I'm not trying to be a hero! I'm trying… I'm trying…" Her words wouldn't form in her frustration so she gave up on them. "Fine! I don't care. I'll do it without you."

"Fine!" Soul shouted automatically. He caught himself too late and grabbed Maka's hand quickly before she could run away. "Wait, what? What are you talking about? By yourself?"

"I'm a witch, remember?"

"Only half, idiot."

"And the other half is a Death Scythe," Maka snapped. "Idiots aren't allowed to call other people idiots."

The two stared at each other for a long moment. Soul could clearly see the pure determination in his partner's face that looked out of place with her tired eyes. He knew as well as she did that this mindset wouldn't last long – he needed to make his final decision now or face the possibility of Maka going off alone and dying when he could have done something.

He had no choice, it seemed.

"You're not going to kill her alone," he said as he got to his feet. He shoved his hands inside of his pockets and gave Maka a lopsided grin, showing off his sharp teeth. "Cool guys don't let their partners fight alone."

With their understanding, Soul transformed to a scythe and landed in Maka's hands. She gripped him tightly and smiled.

"You're pretty cool, Soul," she said earnestly. She looked at her weary friends with a fond expression. "We're doing this for everyone. As students of the DWMA, we can't let this continue any longer than we already have. Are you ready?"

"Always," Soul said gruffly, getting a firm grasp on Maka's soul wavelength. The harmony of the two linked easier than it ever had before.

Maka began to run.

* * *

"Don't sleep, Black Star," Nygus said as she roughly wacked the injured ninja aside the head. "You have a concussion. Do you want to sleep forever?"

"Then why did you hit me?" Black Star shouted as he held the area that the older woman had smacked.

"Quiet down," Nygus sighed as she used a thick bandage to tend to a large, open wound on his arm. "You took on three times more damage than an average person could survive."

"Of course I did. I'm a man who will surpass god. Calling me average is just an insult to my strength." Black Star held a shaky thumbs-up and gave a weak smile. His vision was blurring and his head was spinning due to the amount of blood loss he suffered from, but he refused to let it show.

"Black Star," Tsubaki called from her weapon form in his hand, "please listen to Nygus and calm down. The bleeding won't stop if your heartbeat is too fast."

"Yeah, yeah," he scoffed with a wave of his hand.

"You alright, Kid?" Liz asked from her gun form. "You did a lot of running back there."

"It's no problem. I am a Shinigami, after all," Kid replied passively as he kept his golden eyes on Medusa and Stein. His eyes squinted against the intense blaze coming from the laughing sun at the three figures in the distance and paused. He quickly counted again – though he was sure he hadn't messed up the first time, he had to check once more – and his eyes widened. "Where's Soul and Maka?"

"Huh?" Liz asked in confusion. "They should be right behind us resting. Maka took on some damage and…" She died off, seeing what he was seeing. "Oh."

"Sid," Kid called. "Why are Soul and Maka headed to where Medusa and Stein are?"

"What?" Sid exclaimed, jumping up from his spot on the sand. He ran over to where the young Shinigami stood and followed his line of sight. He released an aggravated sigh and scratched his head hard. "Those kids… They're going to be the second death of me."

"What are you going to do?" Kid asked curiously, his eyes still following the figure that was running quickly up to Medusa.

"What can I do?" Sid shrugged. "Trust them, I guess. Maka has a good head on her shoulders. Soul won't let anything get too out of control."

"Aw, man, those two get all the fun action," Black Star whined. "I took damage to my body as well as my ego when I went head on with that stupid witch so Maka could get an opening to kill her, but she missed it. Now she gets a redo while I'm stuck here?"

"Shush," Nygus chided with another swat. "Maka isn't as injured as you." She paused and looked at the same figure everyone else was before whispering, "Yet."

The seven weapons and meisters watched silently as Maka's running figure grew closer and closer to where the now battle was happening between Medusa, Stein, and Spirit. They all had different thoughts and worries about the matter, but none of them objected. They knew that whatever Maka did would be the right thing in the end – she was a smart, calculating girl who rarely acted on feeling and instead acted on what was logical.

Maka, however, was feeling something slightly different.

"Do you have a plan?" Soul asked from her hands curiously. "Don't tell me that you're just going to barge in their fight."

"That's the plan," Maka replied humorlessly. She was only about twenty feet from the battling adults. Anticipation laced throughout her body and pumped through her veins. This was her last shot; she was going to make it work even if it killed her – something she was fully prepared for to happen.

"Great," Soul groaned. The little demon was waiting patiently at the door of his mind. His lips curled into a snarl. "I guess I should get started."

"That's probably a good idea," Maka huffed in annoyance. Why did it take him so long to realize that?

Soul looked up at the demon and winced at its eerie grin. He floated up to the door and took a step in the black room, feeling a suit wrap around his originally bare body. He walked up to a red cushioned chair and took a seat, looking at the demon with an expecting expression.

"So I see that you finally decided to take the easy route," the demon said as he stuck his oversized hands into his grinning mouth. His shoulders shook with small laughs. "Just say the word and I'll take the reigns."

"You're not going to get full control," Soul said as he crossed his arms. "This is _my_ mind. Even if you want the reigns, you won't be getting them. You saw what I'm capable of earlier. If you get too out of control, I will stop you." Soul glared at the demon for a long while before his lips formed an arrogant smile. "Do we have a deal or not?"

"I suppose so," the demon grumbled. His sly grin faltered for the first time. "After all, if you die, I die. I can't have that. Damn you, Soul Evans. Backing me into a corner like this is dirty."

Soul smiled triumphantly. He knew Maka was annoyed with him for waiting so long to talk with his inner demon, but if he had done it any sooner he wouldn't have had the upper hand. The demon tried to act like it was its own entity, but the truth was that it was the black blood pumping through Soul's body. It was just a parasite – it couldn't live if the host wasn't.

Soul closed his eyes and allowed himself to be submerged in the black blood inside of him. He didn't quite understand the blood and how it worked yet, but he had a gut feeling. It thrived on madness and it induced insanity.

Maka felt power buzz through her hands and she smiled. It was right at the time where she was within a leaping distance of the battling adults.

"—Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. This is too interesting," Stein was saying as he spun the Death Scythe in his hands. His eyes were wide and his lips held a sadistic smile. "I want to dissect you."

"Then by all means," Medusa said with a large, taunting smile, "continue."

She shot a large arrow out of her back at lightening speed. It soared towards Stein, but he sliced it in half with envious ease at the last minute. His eyes caught sight of Maka and he froze for a split second.

_What is that student doing?_ He thought rapidly as he charged towards the witch again. _A few minutes ago she was immobile. Does she have a death wish?_

Part of him wanted to point her out and use her as a distraction, but another part – the science-obsessed part – wanted to see how this situation would play out. How would the daughter of the body that the witch Medusa was using react to this situation? By the look of sheer determination and slight insanity in her eyes, would she kill her? A hundred variables whipped through his mind, but he quickly decided on what he would do.

_He_ would be the distraction.

_Spirit,_ Stein thought to his weapon, _don't say anything about Maka._

_Right_, Spirit replied a little hesitantly, _I have faith in my daughter, Stein. Do you?_

_Not sure. But I guess that's a risk we have to be willing to take._

"Witch Hunter!" Maka and Soul shouted in unison. Soul's blade grew at an alarming speed and he grew lighter in Maka's hand. She kept her balance and felt power surge through her body – it was like she was simply walking on air. Her legs were no longer heavy and her mind was the clearest it had been all day. She narrowed her eyes – this was it.

The unsuspecting witch was focusing too much on Stein and the Death Scythe to know what was coming for her from behind until it was far too late. Maka went for the snake like arrow Medusa was balancing on first, knocking her to the ground. Medusa's eyes widened and, for the first time, Maka didn't see Kami's face any longer. She took a quick look using her Soul Perception and felt peace knowing that her mother's soul was no where to be found in her old body.

"Now, Maka!" Soul shouted as she struggled against the madness. He was fighting it for both of them – Maka was too vulnerable for any more madness than she already had seeping into her mind. He wasn't going to let his demon touch her more than he already had.

With a face full of hate and disgust, Maka raised her scythe and brought it down with an alarming pace with a yell. She felt the blade go through the witch's skin and she didn't stop putting pressure on the shaft until it was digging into the sand on the other side. Blood splattered on her face and her heart pounded its way up to her throat.

Maka's entire share of anguish, frustration, hurt, fear, sadness, and insecurities that she had accumulated throughout the years released in her scream. Flashes of memories with her mother shot through her brain fast enough that it gave her a headache. The bubbling madness inside of her released itself in the form of hot, salty tears that overflowed from her eyes as she stared at the stolen face of her mother. She pressed harder on the scythe, not caring about how much energy was being sucked from her or how deep into the earth she was taking Medusa. It was as if she wasn't going to stop until she had successfully brought the manipulating witch to Hell herself.

Medusa stared blankly at Maka in shock. Her body was starting to deteriorate into nothing but a soul.

"You had so much potential," the witch rasped. She didn't seem surprised at all that this was her end. "If only you would have let me control…"

Before she could finish, Kami's body exploded. Blood rained on the desert and landed in globs on Maka's crying face. When only one soul appeared, she dropped to the ground so that it was at level with her face.

"The only person who can control me is me," she whispered, hugging the soul that had consumed her mother close to her chest.

It was over.


	12. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Soul Eater.

* * *

**A/N:** Um, hey. Remember me? Sorry.

Welp, here it is – the final chapter of Control! Again, thank you so much for your reviews and toleration of my erratic updates. This goes for those who have stuck with me from the start to those who are just starting to read. This story has helped me improve my writing in so many ways, which is why I started it to begin with, and having all your input and help through the long run has helped me! You guys rock. I hope you stick with me for my other Soul Eater stories if I decide to write more! (Nudge, nudge… One is in the works).

This is an epilogue. The characters are a little more mature because of the time jump!

* * *

Maka straightened her yellow cardigan and tugged at her black skirt almost uncomfortably. She wasn't used to wearing such nice clothes, but she felt more like a professor that way.

It had been almost ten years since Medusa's defeat and a twenty-six year old Maka was getting ready for her first teaching job at Shibusen for a newly founded class called Witch Education. It was hard to believe that, after everything she went through in her teenage years, she was finally settling into the profession she had always secretly admired and craved. The job seemed to suit her nicely – it was what everyone had said when she told them.

"What a boring job!" Black Star shouted with a pompous laugh. "A big guy like me would never settle for something as lame as being a teacher!"

"That's really great, Maka-chan," Tsubaki gushed in order to buffer her partner and newly labeled boyfriend's rude remark. "I'm really happy for you!"

"Thanks, Tsubaki," Maka replied warmly – pointedly ignoring the unchanging annoying manner of Black Star – as she took a sip of her tea.

The group of long time friends had met up early in the morning to hear Maka's big announcement, despite the fact that it was two weeks too late. They were all so busy with their three-star meister and death scythe missions that this was the only time that they were all able to get together.

"I'm not at all surprised," Liz almost sighed. "I wish I could find a career path that I would be able to stick with for more than a month... Other than being a Shinigami-in-training's house keeper, of course."

"Let me be your teaching assistant!" Patty shouted gleefully.

"Um, I don't really think that I'm going…" Maka trailed off when Patty's eyes turned into something that looked like the pits of hell.

"I said, let me be your teaching assistant," the younger girl repeated in a slow, deadly tone. "I want to help the other children."

Maka felt that she had two choices at that moment: allow Patty to have what she wanted, or suffer an inevitable death.

"You can't be obligated to something like that, Patty," Liz said quickly, jumping in to do some damage control. "You have to help Kid and me on missions! You know how he doesn't like to only have one gun; we'd be dysfunctional without you!"

Patty seemed satisfied with this reasoning and Maka was saved from having to take care of the reckless girl as well as three hundred students.

"I'm very pleased that you decided to become a staff member at my father's school," Kid said professionally as he cleared his throat. His face softened with a smile and he ruffled Maka's wavy brown hair. "I think the new class is a great idea."

The class had been Maka's idea. After graduating from the DWMA, she came to realize just how outdated the text books were and how misinformed the students were on witches. She was hesitant about raising the issue up with Shinigami-sama, but after a little coaxing from her peers she decided to do it anyways. Witch Education was made an official mandatory class almost so instantly it made Maka's head spin. She hadn't expected to get the job as the teacher, but she figured that Shinigami-sama thought no one else was better to teach a class about witches than a witch.

"Thanks guys," Maka replied again genuinely. She frowned a little. "The kids still haven't warmed up to the idea that I'm a witch, though. I know they're nervous about having me as their teacher."

"They'll get over it when they see how lame you are," Black Star replied in attempt to cheer his friend up. Instead of thanks, he received a heavily overdue Maka Chop.

"I think you're over thinking it, Maka," Kid said with a shrug. "My father hasn't received any complaints from students or teachers about it at all. When Sid came back as a zombie, we were swamped with complaints. Don't worry about it too much."

"Really?" Maka's spirits climbed. "That makes me feel a lot better. I want to be able to teach those kids the right things about witches, but I can't do that if they refuse to let me. I guess, now that I think about it, they're not so bad after all with the idea."

"See?" Tsubaki smiled. "I bet they find it more exciting than scary. You're not the scary witch that they were told about growing up, so I'm sure they already know better than to assume all witches are bad."

"Yeah," Maka agreed. "I feel a lot better now."

"So where's Soul?" Liz asked as she glanced around the table checking to see if she missed him before.

"He's on a mission with a meister from Oceania," Maka said quietly. "He should be back later tonight. I'm hoping, at least."

The idea that her partner, and boyfriend, was with another meister hurt Maka more than she'd like to admit. She had grown so used to always being together on every mission that she had expected it to stay that way when she got her teaching job. Teaching took too much time and dedication for her to leave post for more than a week – especially since there were no other teachers qualified to control her class – so she wasn't able to go out on missions as often as she'd like. Soul was now a death scythe and, as soon as he ranked up enough points and the current one retired, he would eventually become Shinigami-sama's personal weapon.

He didn't have time to put his life on hold for Maka and she understood that, but it didn't make it hurt any less. The hurt was a mix of jealousy and fear. Jealousy of the other meisters for being able to use Soul because of the intimacy it took to wield a weapon like him. Fear that Soul would see that his long time partner wasn't as good after all.

She shook her head, moving the negative thoughts to the deepest, darkest corner of her mind and shut them up in a little box.

"Today's the ten year marker of our battle with Medusa," Kid said in sudden realization. "Are you going to go visit your mother's grave?"

"Yeah. I was going to stop by after my afternoon class with some flowers. I think my dad is supposed to be there, too, but you know him." She stuck out her tongue to hide her uneasiness. She knew very well what day it was; there wasn't a moment when she didn't recall what had happened ten years ago.

* * *

"Maka," Soul said softly as he shook his partner in order to gain her attention. "Hey, Maka, come on. A rescue team is here."

Maka stared at the glowing purple soul in her bleeding arms without moving. Blood from open wounds trickled down her forehead and stung her left eye, but she still remained unblinking. In her arms was the soul of Medusa – the witch that had tortured Maka for years was finally dead. Maka's hands still tingled from the feeling of slicing through the stolen body of her mother; it was an uncanny feeling of satisfaction.

"Is there anything wrong with this girl?" an unfamiliar, gruff voice asked.

"She's not responding to anything I say," Soul said in a rushed, almost panicky tone. "Medusa still can't posses her, can she…?"

"Medusa?" The rescue worker blinked for a moment of confusion before shaking his head. "Oh, the witch. No, she's long gone. If she didn't do it before her soul was exposed, then there is no way she can do it now."

"Then what's wrong with her?" Soul asked with a slight sound of relief playing with his voice.

"It looks like she's in shock. It's common in the younger fighters. They don't seem to register that the battle is over."

Maka was hearing everything the two were saying. She knew the fight was over – there was no use of denying something as obvious as that. Medusa's soul was clutched tightly in Maka's arms; no amount of shock could ignore that fact. She wanted to move and respond to Soul, but her brain couldn't make the correct waves in order to make her limbs and mouth work. Maybe it was the shock.

She felt herself be picked up and put on a gurney, but she didn't lie down. She allowed someone to remove Medusa's soul from her hands, but she didn't know who. Her arms fell limp into her lap and she stared blankly out of the window of the ambulance. She saw two others that carried her friends and Sid, but her mind was racing too much with replays of what had happened less than an hour ago to ask if they were okay.

A hand grasped hers tightly.

"It's going to be okay, Maka," Soul said. "You were really cool out there."

"Thanks, Soul," Maka managed to whisper, moving her warm green eyes to look at her partner. "You were pretty cool, too."

* * *

"I stopped by your mom's grave on my way here," Kid responded, pulling Maka out of her flashback. "It looks like your father was already there. Someone swept the alter and laid fresh flowers out already."

"Huh." Maka smiled. Despite his fickle ways, her father was always consistent with visiting her mother. When she was younger, she refused to believe that her playboy dad ever loved her beautiful mother, but now that she was older, she could see that he did.

"I say we all go out on a mission!" Black Star shouted happily. "Like old times! I can show you all how big I've grown. Someone who will surpass god never stops growing."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Liz exclaimed excitedly over Patty's cheering. She turned to the young Shinigami. "What do you think, Kid? Can you arrange something like that?"

"Sure," Kid smiled. "Making our schedules clear enough for one mission definitely shouldn't be difficult at all."

"Why don't you see if Crona and Ragnarok can join us, too?" Maka suggested. Black Star moaned before she could finish her suggestion but he was the only one who showed signs of objection.

"That kid is so weird, though!" The blue haired ninja complained.

"You're one to talk," Maka retorted with a huff. "Crona isn't weird; she's just… socially inept. You have to admit, she's a lot better now than she was when we first brought her here."

"Yeah, I guess," Black Star mumbled. He sat up a little. "When I first saw her, I couldn't tell if she was a boy or a girl. How did you find out? Can you see that with souls?"

"No. Souls can't tell gender. And, well, I never did _find_ out if Crona was a girl or not," Maka admitted slowly. She shrugged. "It's just that I thought she was cute. So I decided on calling her a girl."

"So you mean she could be a _he_?" Liz asked in bewilderment. "What the heck, Maka! You didn't think to even ask?"

"I thought it'd be rude to!" Maka defended herself. "Besides, she hasn't objected to it so I don't think she cares either way."

"Or maybe she's too, as you say, socially inept to say anything," Kid mused thoughtfully.

"Shut up, guys! Boy or girl, Crona is Crona." Maka swiftly changed the subject. "This mission is going to be a lot of fun. I haven't done anything for Shibusen in forever."

The group of friends shared excited smiles. It had been at least a year since their joint mission and they all craved the power they were able to feed each other. Their Team Resonance had nearly perfected over the years due to the increase in their strength and minds. Of course, the clashing of their personalities – namely Black Star and Maka – caused them to slip up every once in a while. Time changed a lot of things for the seven meisters and weapons, but the ability to tolerate Black Star was limited still.

Somewhere in the center of the city a bell tolled in a flat tone, causing Maka to grab her bag and smile at her friends.

"That's me," she said as she laid money on the table to take care of her tab. "I'll see you guys soon."

The friends said their goodbyes and went in their own directions. Maka hurriedly walked to the DWMA, feeling official and satisfied with the greetings that the students gave her. She remembered all of their names and reminded them that they were going to need their text books for class. The halls of the school that shaped her into who she was that day looked exactly the same as they did the day she stepped foot in here to request permission to become a student.

She eyed the music room in the lobby as she passed it, just as she did every day, and thought fondly of the time where she met the strange boy with the silver hair who changed her life.

When she arrived in the classroom, she noted that two students – a brother and sister duo – that were always late sitting in their chairs. She frowned at the strange sight for a moment before feeling happiness – it seemed like she was finally getting her students interested in something she was passionate about.

"Good morning, Maka-sensei," the weapon named Theo said with a slightly strange smile.

"Good morning, Theo," Maka greeted as she sat her bag on her desk and removed her lesson plans. "Nice to see that you guys decided to be here early. Do you have anything you need to talk to me about?"

"Nah," responded Theo's meister and sister, Meagan. She leaned back in her chair and allowed her dusty blue hair to fall over her shrugging shoulders. "There was nothing else to do, so we just decided to come in here."

"Oh." Maka couldn't deny that she felt a little disappointed, but she knew that none of the students really _wanted_ to come to school; they were obligated. She knew that she was a bookworm and she also knew that she shouldn't expect that from everyone else, too. Soul taught her that well enough early on in their partnership.

"Maka-sensei?" Meagan caught Maka before she turned away. "What star meister are you?"

"A three-star," Maka replied proudly. "I'll be a four-star meister soon enough."

"So you're strong." Theo's eyes narrowed a bit. It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes, I like to think that I am." Maka's chest swelled with pride again. She had worked hard to get to where she was today – most meisters were only two-stars at her age. She had even felt it was necessary for her father to dote on her when she received her third star.

"Do you think being a witch has anything to do with it?" Meagan asked. Her red eyes were wide with interest.

"Um, I'm not quite sure," Maka replied a little nervously. She felt like she was being drilled with questions from the two. A slow trickle of students started so the noise in the room grew to a sea of low mumbles and laughter. "It might, but no one knows for sure. Personally, I'd like to think that's its just normal power."

It was then she noticed that Meagan was starting to look a little uneasy. When Maka went to question her, however, she moved her gaze and turned around to talk to someone else as if she hadn't seen her teacher's worried eyes at all. Maka sighed. Teenagers were a mysterious lot. Even if she had been one only a couple years ago herself.

A higher toned bell rang, signaling class was beginning. Maka waited for a few students that were lagging behind to run in and grab their seats before starting.

Maka began to speak and her students listened – for the most part. She noticed in aggravation that a few had fallen asleep, but thankfully she only had to give out three Maka Chops instead of the double digits today. She wanted everyone to listen to what she was saying, especially with that day's topic. In respect of the ten year anniversary, she was going to teach about Soul Possession.

"How many of you know of ways that witches can posses a soul?" Maka asked, not expecting a verbal reply. A few hands went up and she nodded towards them in acknowledgment, continuing her lecture. "Humans don't have to give permission for their soul to be taken over since the difference in power is too strong. For you weapons and meisters, your soul can be taken against your will, but you have a chance to fight off the witch if your wavelengths are somewhat similar. Does anyone know how a witch can posses another witch?"

A girl in the front who reminded Maka a lot of herself raised her hand.

"Isn't it the same way for weapons and meisters?" the young meister asked, pausing from writing notes.

"That would be the common answer," Maka clasped her hands and shook her head, "but that isn't how it actually works. In most cases, when a witch posses another witch with a similar power level, permission needs to be granted. These deals are usually done with both witches benefiting, of course, but I know of at least one where it was not that case. I'm sure there have been others as well."

She took a slow breath and gave a few seconds for her students to catch up on their notes before she started her story. For ninety minutes, she told bits and pieces of what she went through ten years ago without disclosing that it was from personal experience. Most kids had already heard the story – it was almost a legend – of the half witch who defeated not just one witch, who happened to be her mother, but two witches in one body. Over the years the story became twisted and exaggerated, so it felt nice to finally clear it up.

"From what was seen, if it is not truly a mutual possession, the witch that was taken over will slowly be consumed until there are no remains of their wavelength. So far no one has been able to save a parasitic possession because the cases are so rare." Maka finished up her lecture in a timely manner, grateful that there were twelve minutes left in class so that there was more than enough time for questions.

As if they had read her mind, hands went up all over the classroom.

Maka called on Cassie, the girl who had answered her question before.

"Is it true that the half witch from that story was only twelve?" Cassie asked as she pushed up her glasses. Her black eyes were hungrily searching Maka's face as if the answers were written on there.

"No, she was sixteen," Maka answered swiftly. "She did fight a group of witches when she was fourteen, however."

"How could someone be able to kill her own mother? I would never be able to do that." a boy in the back asked without being called on. He often did this, Maka remembered, but at least this time he had his hand raised.

"Wait until you're called on, Alex," Maka chided before answering his question. "When you're fighting for the oath you took for Shibusen at your entrance ceremony, relations to your enemy shouldn't matter. In this case, her mother's soul was already consumed – she was killed by the witch Medusa, not her daughter. I'm positive it was still difficult, but it was the only option."

Maka bit her lip. She hated how professional and cold the answer sounded, but she was afraid that if she told the class it was her who had destroyed her own mother's body, they wouldn't be taking it with an unbiased mind.

"Why would a witch take over a weapon or meister if they knew there was a chance we could fight them away?" Theo almost challenged. "It seems stupid. Are witches all as stupid as the ones in the story?"

"Most witches have the ability of Soul Perception, so they can see if their victim's soul is strong enough to be taken over. It's extremely rare for a meister or weapon to fight off a witch, but it can happen," Maka replied with a sigh. "Theo, please don't use the term stupid. You can find other words that are less offensive to make your point."

"Oh, right. Didn't mean to offend you, Miss Witch," Theo replied coldly.

His dark eyes were still holding a challenging glint to them, but Maka chose to ignore it. She was seething with anger and annoyance, but with her teaching title, she wasn't allowed to go around beating up kids. Professor Stein had told her it was alright and perfectly healthy when necessary, but some of her morals just didn't allow her to listen to the mad scientist.

The idea that Theo and Meagan were up to 98 souls eased Maka's anger. Though Meagan wasn't troublesome, her brother had a rude attitude and frequently disrupted the class. She felt that he was entitled to his opinions, but he was completely missing the sole purpose of this class. It was to spread awareness about witches so that their predators, so to speak, wouldn't kill them all thinking that they were evil no matter what. She wanted to educate the Shibusen students and show them that evil was a mankind trait, not a certain race.

The bell rang and class was dismissed. All three-hundred students piled out of the class room impatiently – Maka was going to have to ask Shinigami-sama for permission to make the door larger. She had already used an enlarging spell on the classroom and was satisfied with the size of it, so she figured the spell would work just fine on the door as well. Due to it being in the middle of the year, she was unable to have multiple classes and piled all of the of age students into one class.

After packing her things and saying goodbye to the other teachers, she walked out of the school and into town. She went into multiple flower shops until she found the specific flower she wanted. She bought a dozen tiger lilies and walked to the outskirts of town where the cemetery was located.

The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky. Its soft panting signaled that it was almost time for the grinning moon to rise. Maka looked at her watch and almost gasped at what time it was – Soul would be walking through the door to their apartment any minute now. She paused at the gate of the cemetery and frowned. She wasn't used to managing her time poorly like this so now she wasn't sure what to do.

Eventually she decided that Soul could wait. She opened the rickety gate and walked in the dimly lit grave yard, moving the arrow tipped branches out of the way until she reached her mother's grave.

Kid was right about someone cleaning it up. Even though Maka tried to do it monthly, the trees were shedding unusually early so she knew it had been covered with decaying leaves. She squatted and ran her hand over the cool slate, moving her fingers along the groves that read:

_Kami Albarn  
A mother, a friend, and a savior._

Maka laid the tiger lilies next to the pink orchids her father had probably brought and smiled. The orange glow made the cool stone look warm and almost welcoming despite it being her least favorite color. It reminded her too much of Medusa's eyes and that was one thing she hated being reminded of.

"Hey, Mama," Maka said softly as she twiddled a blade of grass between her fingers. She knew that there was no body underneath the ground – all bodies disappeared once the hearts inside of them stopped beating – but she liked to talk to her mother's grave marker anyway. She felt it was the closest she could get to the woman. "Today is a special day for us, isn't it? I won't cry this time, promise."

Even though she was saying the words, tears stung her eyes and threatened to spill over. She wiped the tears away with a sad smile and mumbled, "Oops."

A cool breeze caused her hair to tickle her face and she sat on the ground, crossing her legs. She looked up at the slowly darkening sky as a memory of the first time she saw the grave swept over her.

* * *

"Maka, c'mon, where are you going?" Soul called after his running partner. They had been in the middle of dinner when she suddenly jumped up and took off out the house.

"I'm going to see Mama!" Maka shouted as she tried to hide her tear stained face. She had been putting it off until she realized it had been a year and a half since she defeated Medusa. It wasn't fair to herself or her deceased mother to not visit the memorial that was the last thing to represent her on earth. She didn't want Soul to think she was childish and weak for being so sentimental.

Her boots sloshed in the puddles left over from the rain that day and she felt her bare legs get muddy but she never stopped running. She made a few wrong turns and she hoped to god that Soul wasn't still following her because she knew he would laugh later. She bumped in to people without saying sorry and her feet wouldn't stop running long enough for her to help anyone up that she knocked down.

When she reached the tall wiry gate, she shoved through it and let it slam behind her, shaking the fence it was connected to. She slowed down into a jog, remembering that she didn't know where her mother's grave was exactly. As she was scanning the names on the headstones and flat marble markers she heard the gate slam again behind her. She ignored it.

She had to continuously wipe her eyes due to the nonstop flow of tears in order to see in front of her but, despite her ailment, she found what she was looking for.

Her knees collapsed when she let them rest. The ground was soft from the rain and she felt the mud ooze around her legs. She was almost sure if it weren't for the hands that grabbed her by the arms she would had sunk as far as the core of the Earth.

"Idiot," Soul's voice grunted from behind her. "If you wanted to come here all you had to do was ask."

Maka felt Soul slump down next to her and she leaned into him, feeling his heart beat as fast as hers was. Both of their chests heaved with heavy breaths from running across town, but neither of them complained. Maka clutched his arm for support and stared at the slab of marble until her mind stopped racing as fast as she was earlier and her breathing became normal.

She smiled and hung her head. "Sorry."

"It's cool," Soul replied with a small flash of his sharp teeth.

"Mama, this is Soul," Maka whispered to the unresponsive marker. "You met him kind of before, but I never got to introduce you two. He's my partner. He's the one you made a death scythe."

"Ah," Soul muttered uncomfortably. "Sup, Miss Kami."

"Kami-san," Maka corrected. "She's Japanese, dummy."

"Don't embarrass me when I'm trying to impress someone," Soul hissed as he gave his meister a little shove.

"Brush up on your culture then!" Maka exclaimed.

"You gave me no time to prepare!" Soul huffed exasperatedly. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants and gave a shiver – he hadn't had enough time to grab a jacket.

Maka giggled and wrapped her arms around him, bringing herself closer. She put her face into his warm chest. "Thanks, Soul."

"Yeah, yeah. Next time give me a heads up when you want to come here. I think I left the oven on."

"What are you? A middle aged woman?"

"No, I'm just someone who doesn't want to come home to a burnt down apartment!" Soul stood up with Maka. "You done here?"

Maka took one more look at the grave sight then brought her eyes back to Soul. She nodded.

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

A small clatter and a whispered curse brought Maka out of her personal frame story and she jumped with surprise. The sun was still out but, thanks to the trees, the cemetery was dimly lit. The shadows were long and jumbled causing Maka's normal sight to betray her. She grabbed her Soul Perception and looked around, searching for the person who made the noise.

She found the two souls easily. The weapon and meister were crouched behind the nearest tree, shielding their bodies from being seen by the naked eye.

"I can sense souls, you know," Maka called out carefully, unaware of exactly who was there. "A sneak attack won't work on me."

"Che, should have known," a familiar voice replied. A figure stepped from behind the shadows and the orange dusk enveloped Theo. His glasses gleamed in the light, making his smile look almost sinister. "You did tell us that most witches have Soul Perception, didn't you?"

"Nice to see that you pay attention in my class, Theo." Maka stood up and wiped off the dirt on her black skirt, feeling less threatened than before. He was just a kid, after all. "What are you two doing here?"

Meagan stepped into the light as well. Her blue hair that was normally down was pulled into a tight bun and her red eyes looked like she was a little afraid. "We came to see you, Maka-sensei…"

"You could have waited until tomorrow," Maka replied with a sigh. She wasn't threatened, but that didn't mean that she wasn't uncomfortable. What was so important that they had to practically stalk her and invade her personal time with her mother's grave? She knew something was up. Her stance tightened.

"Your class has really opened my eyes, Maka-sensei," Theo continued, ignoring his teacher. "Enrolling in Shibusen really was the best idea that I've ever had. Your class told me exactly what we need to do to kill you." In a sudden flash, he turned to his weapon form and landed in Meagan's hands safely. He was a long pipe like object that funneled out on the end pointed towards Maka. She had never seen what weapon form he took before, but she knew that his attack had something to do with altering sound waves.

"Wait a minute," Maka shouted, backing up and covering up her ears. "As Shibusen students, you aren't allowed to harm anyone who isn't on Shinigami-sama's list! Witch or otherwise!"

"I don't care what you say," Theo snarled. "I don't care about that stupid oath, either! They were just a bunch of words. My brother and I joined for one reason and one reason only. That is to get enough training in order to kill every single witch we come in contact with. All we have to say was that the witch teacher Maka-sensei snapped and we resorted to self defense. Everyone would be on our side."

"But why?" Maka asked as she ceased her backwards stumbling. "Why would you want to do that?"

"The only people we have in the world are each other," Theo shouted, his reflection appearing in the stereo part of his weapon form, "thanks to a stupid witch! We've been alone for years preparing for this moment. Now we can finish our stay at Shibusen and I can become a death scythe, all in one go!"

Maka's heart beat hard against her rib cage until it felt like it would burst out. She was defenseless and at a loss – she couldn't use magic on the kids because it would give them a reason to attack her, but she couldn't just wait for them to attack first, either. Low hums of purple static sparked from her hands on pure instinct. She had no choice but to wait on the latter.

"I know what you're going through," Maka said desperately in attempt to gain time. "My mother was taken away from me by a witch and my father's time was consumed with his bad habits and Shinigami-sama! I've been alone, too."

"Don't put yourself on the same level as us," Meagan snapped. Her eyes narrowed into a dark glare. "You couldn't possibly understand anything. You're a witch! Just like the one that killed our parents."

"No, I'm not." Maka's voice was firm. "I'm _not_ the witch that killed your mother and father. I'm nothing like her."

Meagan paused. For a moment, it looked like she didn't want to start attacking Maka. It seemed as if Theo was the dominant one in the partnership and Meagan was being manipulated to do whatever she was told.

"Meagan, calm down," Maka said slowly. "Just put Theo down and think about this. You know I don't want to hurt you guys."

"Shut up!" Meagan shouted. "Let's just get this over with, Theo."

"Just say the words, Meg," Theo growled in response.

Maka wanted to hear what Theo's starting words were, but the screech coming from him drowned everything out. The air around her vibrated and her ears rang loud enough that she thought her head was going to explode. Her hands still covered her ears, but it did little to nothing to help.

"Damnit," she cursed angrily. "I really don't want to use magic on you!"

"What are you talking about?" Theo thundered. His voice was somehow able to be heard over the sound waves that were attacking Maka. "You want to use magic more than anything. You want to kill us, don't you?"

"Honestly?" Maka shouted in reply. "Yeah, I do. You two brats are really starting to piss me off!"

Maka shot off a little bit of her magic in order to damage Theo enough to quiet him down, but Megan deflected it with ease. Right now, they were in control of the air. There was really nothing she could do other than hope someone heard the god awful screaming noise and came to help. She was at a heavy disadvantage here, even if she was half witch.

"Do you really think we would attack you knowing that there was a chance you could fight back?" Meagan frowned. "Just stay still so we can make your head explode."

For a moment, Meagan looked almost identical to Crona when they battled each other years ago. They had the same expression in their eyes. They were both similar, so maybe they both worked in similar ways…

The intensity of Theo's noise was insufferable. Maka covered her ears and whispered a silencing spell, but nothing happened. Her magic was stronger in the defensive area than any other since that's what she focused her training on. It was hard to believe that kids like Theo and Meagan were going to defeat her this easily. Anger boiled in the pit of her stomach – who were they to govern whether she lived or died because she was a witch? She was tired of it already.

She dropped her hands from her ears and grimaced. The sound Theo kept screaming was enough to make her ears bleed, but she didn't allow the amount of pain she was feeling to show on her face. She sent all of her magic pressure to the palms of her hands and began backing away calmly once more from her students. She knew she was going to have to keep a sane mind and a calm outer appearance if she wanted to stop these two.

"Maka, stop!"

Kid's voice boomed through the air, causing Maka and Meagan to jump in surprise. A red and black scythe landed in front of Maka and she instinctively grabbed it. Kid followed, clutching Liz and Patty in his hands.

"Theo and Meagan Sindz, in the name of my father, the Death Lord of Death City, I command you to return to your human form and stop this nonsense at once!" Kid thundered. His voice was filled with enough authority to cause Maka to freeze and Theo to stop his unbearable screaming.

"Shit," Meagan cursed. She obediently dropped Theo who landed with a thump on the ground.

"Idiot!" Theo shouted from his now silent weapon form. "Don't surrender that easily!"

"That's Shinigami-sama's son, Theo," Meagan whispered. Her eyes were wide and fearful of the young reaper. "Going against him is going against God himself."

"Cut your superstitious crap. I'll handle this on my own then." Theo flashed into his human form partly. His arm was in the shape of an elongated speaker that vibrated as he picked up enough sound waves to manipulate.

The scythe in front of Maka flashed and Soul appeared in the reflection of the blade. He looked awful with his hair shooting in different directions and dried blood on his chin. It was probably from his previous mission, Maka thought. His eyes were narrowed into a menacing glare.

"Don't even think about it. You're no match against a death scythe, idiot," Soul growled.

"Maka Albarn is an important friend of mine, as well as the rest of Death City," Kid continued. He had planned a speech on the way over here and he was going to force everyone to listen. "You may have heard of the legend of the half witch who defeated Medusa, the strongest witch Shibusen had opposed in years. The half witch would be Maka."

Meagan's eyes widened. "That was you?"

"I never said it wasn't," Maka huffed. "Sorry, my soul is a dud if you want to become a death scythe. I was trying to tell you that earlier."

"There are witches on my father's list that you can attend to if you'd like," Kid said as he lowered Liz and Patty, no longer feeling threatened by the two kids. "Anyone that kills a person that isn't on that list is considered someone on their way to becoming a Kishin. I don't believe that you would want your fellow classmates to begin hunting you, do you?"

"I don't care." Theo's eyes were hard. They were glaring at Maka with such intensity, she felt herself falter.

"Stay strong, Maka," Soul whispered. It was disappointing that those were the first words he spoke to her in weeks. "We'll take care of this punk."

"Theo, what are you saying?" Meagan looked worried for her brother. "I didn't know all of this… Now that I'm thinking about it, it's not really worth it! She's not even a full witch!"

"Are you telling me you don't remember how our lives have been for the past six years?" Theo was still aiming his stereo arm at Maka, but his cold dark eyes were set on his sister. "Are you saying that you don't care that our parents were killed for nothing but the fun of it?"

"Of course I care! Why else do you think I've been going along with your ridiculous plan for this long?" Meagan snapped. Her face softened. "You're my brother and I love you, but this… I know this is wrong."

"There's nothing wrong with taking out the trash," Theo snarled in response.

"Your sister is right and you're wrong. Be a man and face it," Kid sighed. "This is really troublesome. I have important manners that I need to be handling at my own home and you are putting a damper on my strict nightly schedule. You _do_ realize that I haven't measured all of the portrait's distance on the walls, correct? There could be an uneven amount of space between my pictures and do you know what that means? Where there is evenness, there is symmetry. Where there is symmetry, there is happiness." His golden eyes narrowed, giving his face a frightening glow. "Do you really want to be the sole reason of my unhappiness?"

Theo gulped. He didn't want to be apart of any reason for the young grim reapers lack of happiness, much more the sole reason for it.

"If we are at a clear understanding now and you promise not to attack any of my friends or citizens of Death City, I'll escort you to the Death Room. My father would like to have a word with you." Kid spun his pistols around his pinkies and tossed them in the air. Liz and Patty appeared and landed safely on their feet, looking just as pleased as their meister was for having the conflict end so soon.

"He means both of you," Liz grunted as she grabbed Meagan's collar while she was trying to escape. She sighed heavily. "Really, kids in Death City don't have what it takes to be delinquents. None of them would last a day on Brooklyn's streets."

The five walked out of the graveyard with two of them holding their heads low, leaving Maka and Soul alone. Maka blinked; she wasn't sure if it was really over or not and neither did her witch blood – it still boiled and sparked almost excitedly inside of her.

"Are you alright, Maka?" Soul asked as he turned into his human form. His tired eyes scanned her to see if she had any visible wounds.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My ears are ringing a little, but that's all." Maka smiled at her old partner. "You always seem to come at the right time."

"Yeah, well, a few of your students caught wind of what those two were planning and alerted Shinigami-sama. Kid met me right at the door to our apartment complex and said that you were in trouble." He yawned. "Glad that's over, though. I'm beat. Good thing they aren't half as stubborn as you are."

"Good thing your death scythe status scared them," Maka corrected as she looped her arm in Soul's. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Anything. I'm starved."

"Can do," Maka smiled again and started walking. She shot one last glance at her mother's grave and wondered if she was watching the whole time. It seemed ridiculous but somewhat plausible. The two walked in an awkward silence for a few blocks before Maka broke it. "So, how was your mission?"

"Like the rest of them, I guess." Soul shrugged. "Three witches were trying to start an army, but we stopped them. Callie works crazy fast."

"Ah, Callie." The name felt foreign on Maka's tongue and sparked a flow of jealousy. "Is she a good meister?"

"She's really good," Soul nodded enthusiastically. "We have the same favorite band, too. We listened to their CD most of the time we were together and it got us really pumped."

"Oh," Maka squeaked. "That's great." The tone of her voice didn't match the words she was saying even if she did try. "She's the one you went out on a mission with last month too, right?"

"Oh yeah. Huh. I forgot."

Even though he didn't know it, Soul's forgetfulness made Maka feel a little less jealous. _Take that, Callie_, she thought with a somewhat spiteful smile. Just because Callie understood Soul's love for music, shared a love for the same band, and was able to be his meister, it didn't mean Soul shared a love with her. No, that wasn't Callie's territory. It was Maka's.

"Well, I'm glad you're back in one piece," Maka said when they reached their apartment building. She stole a glance around them to make sure no one was watching before placing her lips on Soul's cheek. She felt her cheeks redden and she quickly ducked her head before Soul could notice; he would never let her hear the end of it if he knew that he still made her blush like a little girl.

"Hey, Maka?" Soul asked once they got inside of their apartment. He plopped down on the couch and signaled for Maka to follow. When she did, he continued. "Do you miss being my only meister?"

"Wha… What do you mean?" Maka stammered in embarrassment. She was sure to be careful about her expressions when she was around him and maintain face so that he wouldn't get worried. Unless Soul was a mind reader, he shouldn't know how she felt.

"I mean, do you ever feel a little jealous of the other people who are my partners on missions?" Soul uselessly elaborated; Maka knew exactly what he meant the first time, she just didn't want to admit it.

"No," she lied stubbornly. "Why would I?"

Soul got so close to Maka's face that she could feel his cool breath on her cheek. His red eyes were intense with his serious question, but they held a playful glint as well. A shiver ran up her spine and she turned her face away from him, blowing her cover.

"You know what I think?" he asked quietly.

"It's probably stupid," Maka mumbled as she crossed her arms, moving away from him.

"I think you're a liar," he whispered. "I know when something's up with you, Maka, and after talking to everyone else, I know what it is." He closed the new distance between the two and smiled a wicked smile. "You're jealous."

"I am not!" Maka huffed in aggravation. "Why can't you just accept it? Jeez, Soul. I knew you were conceited, but this is –!"

He cut her rant off by catching her lips with his. She put her hands on his chest and tried to shove him away, but something didn't let her use all of her strength. She'd missed him too much in the past two weeks to allow herself to push him away, but it didn't mean that a small part of her wanted him off. He was too close. If he got even an inch closer, the truth would come out and he would laugh.

"So where is this jealousy coming from?" Soul asked casually when they separated. He leaned back on the couch and looked at her through one open eye. "If it's not of the other meisters, is it because the other meisters are mostly girls?"

Maka swallowed and shook her head while trying to recompose herself. "I don't care about that. I don't care about any of it!"

"Why can't you just be honest with me?" Soul almost snapped as he sat up and looked at her crossly. "We were partners for over a decade. You can't tell me you feel nothing after all that." He paused, quirking an eyebrow. "And if it's about the girls, you don't have to worry about that. You kind of blacklisted me on the girlfriend department since not too many people would be happy to know that you're a witch."

"Yeah, well, having a death scythe as a boyfriend isn't a walk in the park for finding guys," Maka snapped in retaliation. She was a little hurt for Soul not taking this seriously enough. If he wondered why she wasn't being upfront about her envy, the way he was handling it was an answer in itself.

"Why? Have you checked?" Soul accused.

"No, I haven't. Have you?" Maka shot back, narrowing her green eyes.

"What kind of idiotic question is that? Of course I haven't!" Soul exclaimed. He slumped down and huffed like a child. "Stupid woman."

"Brainless bastard!"

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Maka looked everywhere in their small living room except for at Soul. She noticed that the shelves needed dusting and that a picture frame wasn't straight enough. She would have noticed more, but she was too hyperaware of the man breathing in annoyance next to her.

"How would you feel if I decided to wield another weapon?" Maka finally asked, still refusing to look at her boyfriend.

"Nothing," Soul admitted nonchalantly. When Maka shot him a glare finally, he cracked a smile large enough to reveal all of his sharp teeth. "Just kidding. I'd probably beat them to a bloody pulp." His eyebrows furrowed. "No, not probably. Definitely. I'd definitely kick the shit out of them."

"What if it was something I had to do?" Maka whispered, hiding her happiness that came from his violent answer. "What if it was my job?"

"Oh," Soul frowned. He finally understood what Maka was trying to say. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I guess I would be quiet about it and let you do your thing. But I'd still be pissed."

"Exactly." Maka leaned back against the couch and looked at the ceiling, too.

"Listen," Soul started. He was being more careful with his words now that he knew what was going through Maka's mind. "You were right to keep quiet about how you were feeling for the most part in your mind, I guess, but you have to tell me what's going on up there." He tapped his head. "It pisses me off when I know something wrong with you, but I don't know what."

"There's tons of things wrong with me, Soul," Maka said crossly. She had a rough night – Theo and Megan's confrontation upset her far more than she let on – and she didn't want to deal with Soul's games. "Ten years ago today, I watched my own mother be eaten and then I had to destroy her body. I'm stubborn. I made straight A's my entire school life, but even with that under my belt I'm only book smart. I'm a three-star meister but – let's face it! – I'm not that great of one. I don't understand music on your level and we don't have the same favorite band. Just an hour ago, two of my students who I tried my hardest to make understand witches tried to kill me. Everything I worked so hard for is leaving me because I'm a witch!" She threw her hands up in defeat. "You, too! Even you're leaving me!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Soul shouted, grabbing for Maka's hands. He grasped them tightly. "I'm not going to deny the fact that you're stupid because, well, you are. Are you the best meister in the world? No. But you're still really good at it. You can't be the best at everything, but you're the best at a lot of things. Even though you were attacked by two students, I know just as well as you do that tomorrow you're going to go back to that damn school and continue trying to teach those close minded pricks. There are tons of things wrong with me, too, Maka!" He let go of one of her hands to tap hard on his skull again. "I've got a frickin' demon in my mind from the black blood that's been pumping through my veins for ten years!"

Maka stared at him in stunned silence. They fought a lot like they always had, but Soul rarely ever mentioned the demon in his mind. The last time they brought it up was when they were fighting a strong witch a few years ago and they were forced into a corner with no way out. He hadn't wanted to use the demon's help – he never did. But they ended up using it – they always did.

"No one is going to leave you, Maka," Soul said with a sigh. "If they do, they weren't worth keeping anyways. Look at Black Star. He's been your friend since you guys weren't old enough to even think about going to Shibusen and has he once said anything to make you think that he didn't like you because you were a witch?"

"No," Maka replied hesitantly. Black Star had said a lot of things to her in the past that could have ruined their childhood friendship, but that was never one of them.

"Did you see how Kid protected you tonight? He's the future head of Shibusen and you've shown him enough to know that not all witches are bad. Liz is scared of everything and can't even look Sid in the eye, but she's your friend. Tsubaki and Patty…" Soul paused. "Well, they're friends with everyone, but they don't have to like you and they do."

Maka blinked. It was all she could do. She had no idea that Soul was capable of saying something like that before and it rendered her speechless. She wanted to thank him, but she didn't think a simple 'thank you' would suffice the relief he fed her.

"And me," he continued, pulling her closer. "For some reason, I love you. You're a pain in the ass, but there's something about you that makes me want to keep you around. You really are the biggest idiot I know, but it's going to take a hell of a lot more than that to make me want to leave you. Got it?"

Maka nodded dumbly, not knowing what else to do. She hated her insecurities but she hated voicing them even more. Most of the time, she stayed quiet about them but moments like this came around every so often.

"Thank you," Maka whispered into Soul's ear. She saw a satisfying shiver run through him and smiled. He wasn't as tough as he claimed. She knew that she had just as much hold over him as he did her.

She meant it, too – her thank you. She'd always believed the things Soul had just told her, but a small voice that sounded much like Medusa's always said she was too full of herself to think such things. Her insecurities didn't all go away in that instant, but she really believed that they eventually would. She was still young and had tons of time to correct those nearly fatal flaws of hers. With her friends – especially Soul – always by her side she felt it was more possible than ever.

"You've definitely put some sort of spell on me," Soul accused mockingly. "Why else would I want a woman as stubborn as you?"

"They do say to never trust a witch, right?" Maka teased, twirling her fingers into his white hair.

His red eyes met hers and a lazy smile spread against his lips. "Guess I should have listened to them, huh?"

"Nah," Maka giggled.

"Yeah," Soul said slowly in a low voice. "You're right."

Then he kissed her.

_The End_


End file.
